Proving a Point
by Baka-Pyros
Summary: Sarah wishes Jareth to the human world, where he confronts her about his love for her. Sarah does not believe that the Goblin King is capable of love. To what length will Jareth go to prove her wrong? Sarah/Jareth. Definitely rated M.
1. Chapter 1

**AN:** So, if anybody finds any mistakes they'd like to point out, go right ahead! I'm really new to writing Labyrinth fanfiction (my norm being Harry Potter ff). In fact, I only watched the movie the other day, but I was so spellbound by the relationship between these two characters I had to check and see if there even _was_ any fanfiction for it, and lo and behold, there was quite a bit! So, this is my attempt to jump into the foray. Wish me luck!

…………………

Evening autumn wind swished past Sarah, brushing her beige skirt forwards and blowing her hair into her face. She loved feeling the crisp, cool air while she walked Merlin slowly around the block. Slowly indeed. Her dog had certainly seemed to get old without her noticing; his boisterous leaping now much more subdued, and with telltale signs that he was starting to feel arthritis in his front legs.

Her ever faithful sheepdog, who didn't mind if she called him Ambrosias once in awhile by accident, looked up at her and woofed happily, pink doggy tongue hanging out amidst all the poofy white fur. Sarah smiled as she tugged her hair out of her own face and tried to tie it back without getting tangled in the leash she was holding.

Once her hair was secured out of her face, Sarah bent down and pulled back a handful of Merlin's hair so she could look him in the eye. "I don't know how you can stand having all this in your face. Maybe I should get a pony tail for you as well."

Merlin seemed to think this was a grand idea, and pressed his cold, wet nose against her cheek, and let out a big, dog food smelling breath right into her face. Wrinkling her nose at him, she laughed.

Straightening up, Sarah continued her leisurely pace, her hand loosely holding the leash. Merlin amiably padded along next to her, busily sniffing the air.

Saturdays always seemed to be the most relaxing of the day of the week. The day where she could just shut down before recharging on Sunday and heading back to work, back to school, on Monday. It was her first year teaching, having just completed her degree, and she was still getting used to being in charge. To being an authority figure.

She loved her class, though. She taught a grade four class, filled with students who hadn't lost their sense of wonder, or their love of adventure. Who still loved stories and to hear tales. Sarah had grown up, but part of her could just never let go of the fairy tales, so she passed them on to the children. Stories of the Round Table, of dragons and princesses, of fallen kingdoms and brave knights. But not one tale about a labyrinth or a Goblin King.

Toby was in attendance at the school she taught at, not yet old enough to be in her class. At eight years of age, he was just starting third grade.

He had certainly grown up to be a whole human child. Not one bit of Goblin in him, and if his sense of dress was a little eccentric, well then she blamed that on him being an eight year old boy with no fashion sense.

Sarah shook her head. It had been so long since the labyrinth, but never once did she think she had dreamed it. The evidence of her celebratory party had lasted for days, and she had issues getting all the hair from Ludo off from the drapes he had become entangled in at one point.

The point wasn't whether or not if she believed it had all been real, but whether or not dwelling on such things would be a good idea. Truly, she missed her friends, but she knew it wasn't good to always have goblins hanging around her, not if she intended making friends here.

Not that she had any. True, there was always Toby, the little boy cherished the Saturday afternoons they always spent together, but she didn't really know anybody her own age. It just seemed she couldn't identify with people her own age. They always seemed so—boxed in. Unimaginative. Boring.

Maybe she was a child stuck in an adult's body.

Or a goblin stuck in a human's body.

She stopped walking, and Merlin looked up at her, waiting to see what the hold up was about.

Now where had _that_ thought come from? She patted Merlin on the head and kept walking.

She was just lonely, that's all. She had no one but children to keep her company, and she almost craved an adult that she could carry a conversation with. Then again, the goblins she had met had all been quite childish in their own ways as well. Hoggle in his naivety, Ludo in his simplicity, Sir Didymus in his sheer exuberance. The only adult had been the Goblin King. The man who had promised her everything, and who she had turned away from to save Toby. The boy she had petulantly put in jeopardy in the first place.

When she had first returned from the labyrinth, she had thought herself such a great hero. As she grew up, she came to terms with that all she had done was rectify her wrong. Unless she had destroyed the Goblin King, but she doubted he would be bested so completely. He was certainly a person who had kept her on her toes, anyway.

"I don't know what's wrong with me, boy," she commented absent mindedly to Merlin. "I mean, I tried so hard to get out of there, but now all I wish is that the Goblin King was here."

Her dog gave her an odd look. "I know, I know. It's just… is it so wrong that I kind of want excitement again?" Merlin stayed silent, as if contemplating her words. "At least I would have something to laugh at, what with the way he dresses," she giggled, as she walked up the steps to the small house that she owned.

…

_"…all I wish is that the Goblin King was here." _

Jareth let a wicked grin curl his lips as her words echoed out through the crystal he held in his gloved palm.

If that wasn't a clear invitation, then what was?

He flicked the crystal out of view, and glanced out the window. His city was rebuilt. His labyrinth ever loomed in front of the city. He was sure it would be fine without him for a couple days.

On that thought, he flicked the crystal back into his hand. He stared at it for a moment, as he saw Sarah speaking to that shaggy dog. _"At least I would have something to laugh at, what with the way he dresses."_ He glared at crystal. She found him _funny_, did she? Well, he'd fix that soon enough.

He gripped the glass orb tightly before smashing it at his feet, disappearing with the shards and smoke that it produced.

The Goblin King had entered the human world.

…

Sarah dropped her keys on her old coffee table. Merlin had climbed up onto the small loveseat and was sprawled across it so that she didn't even have room to sit if she wanted.

Her living room was tiny, consisting only of the small sofa and a coffee table. It adjoined to the kitchen that was separated only by the existence of a small dining table. A hall split off between her kitchen and living room, the door on the left of the walkway her bedroom and the door on the right, her bathroom. The very end of the hall had the door to the linen closet, and there was a full-length mirror attached to it.

Sarah hadn't changed much since her time in the labyrinth. Her face had thinned out a bit, but it made her eyes larger so she hadn't really lost her child like appearance. Of course, her body had filled out and was definitely the body of a woman, not a teenager. A smile tugged on her lips at that thought, but fell quickly as she realised that even a woman's body didn't give her any male attention. Their eyes always sliding past her, or dismissing her.

She opened the door to bathroom with a huff and turned on the tap for the bathtub. A long hot soak sounded like just the ticket at the moment. Screw the male population. Or not, as was the case.

She watched the water as it poured in a little torrent, splashing and churning in the tub. Soon steam began to rise in little vapours above the water as it heated up, and Sarah exited to go grab her towel.

After fighting with the linen closet to relinquish her towel from its messy confines, she went into the bathroom and shut the door. The tub was still filling up as she began to undress, pulling her clothes off and then releasing her hair from the hair tie that held it bound. She wrapped her towel around herself to ward off most the chill while the tub continued filling.

She turned the tap off for the bath when it was full enough, and sighed as the cacophonous sound of the water stopped and the house was filled with blissful silence. She could barely hear Merlin's nails clicking on the hardwood floor, and she made note that she would probably have to trim them soon.

Dropping her towel, she made to get into the hot water when she heard a voice come from behind her, "If you are allowed to laugh at my state of dress, do I get to have one at you whilst you're in a state of _undress_?"

Sarah whipped her head around, and froze when she realised that none other than the Goblin King was standing in her bathroom. Leaning against the sink, to be exact. While she was naked.

His eyes travelled down her naked back and over her arse with an almost predatory glint in them. "Then again, I'm pretty sure that with you looking like this, laughing is the _last_ thing on my mind."

Hastily, Sarah grabbed her towel and wrapped it around her tightly as she could, clutching it to herself as a lifeline. "You- how did you- I thought you couldn't come here!"

He pushed off from the sink and took a step towards her, his heeled boot echoing on the tiled floor. He looked exactly as he had when she left. His blonde, almost white hair in its shocking style, his aristocratic features half condescending, half amused, his eyes ever dramatic with the markings around them. "Oh, dear Sarah, you are right. I _couldn't_ come here. I could watch you, listen to you, but I wasn't allowed to come _touch _you," He took another step forwards, so that she was in easy reach, and ran a glove-clad finger down her face. She didn't flinch away, nor did she lean into it. He continued, "I couldn't come before. Not until you _wished_ for my presence."

Sarah sputtered, her face flushing although she didn't know if it was from anger or embarrassment.

"I didn't mean that!" she cried, aware of how childish she sounded.

"But what's said is said," he threw at her, holding out his hands so they hovered above her shoulders, noticing how she tensed and revelling in it. "And now I can touch you." His hands rested on her shoulders, soft leather that felt warm on her bare skin.

She didn't move, but simply glared at him. "And I would ask that you do _not_. I beat you, now leave me be."

"Sarah, dearest Sarah, you didn't beat me at anything. I only ever did what you asked. I, a king, offered to become a slave. For _you_. Do you not understand?"

She batted his hands off her shoulders, anger flashing in her eyes. "I am not fifteen anymore, Goblin _King_," she spat the title at him, "and you can no longer manipulate me. If I do not understand, then you do not remember. _You have no power over me_."

His mismatched eyes flashed at her words. "I think you're wrong, Sarah. I think you're very, very wrong."

"You have no child to bargain with. There is no labyrinth in my house for you to make me run. You do not rule here. I'd say you're power is pretty limited."

As soon as she had finished speaking, he grabbed her hands, spun her to the side and had her pressed against the cold tile wall of her bathroom. He pinned her arms above her head, and insinuated a leg between hers. His body pressed against her, holding up the only bit of modesty she had.

He grinned as her large dark eyes, grew huge with fear. How her pretty little mouth had gaped open in surprise. The feel of her lithe body pressed against his was almost too much. It felt so real to be touching her now. So real. When she had been in his kingdom the only time he had touched her was in her dream at the masquerade, while they danced. When she was a little girl. It didn't compare.

Then again, she also wasn't almost naked in that dream.

Her chest was heaving with her anxiety and he felt her breasts press against him through the towel. She was definitely no longer the little girl.

"I'd say this is plenty of power, wouldn't you? I have the power of superior strength on my side." He leaned in so that his breath was hot on her neck, and she shivered at the feeling. She was suddenly very aware that he was a man who had her completely at his mercy. She bit her lip to keep from whimpering.

Noticing her reaction, Jareth smiled. He _knew_ that she had never had any potential lovers. What _she_ didn't know however, was that human males would forever avoid her. He grinned. Not because of her looks, or her personality… but because she had eaten goblin fruit. She had been marked as different from the moment she ate the peach offered to her by her _friend_. More importantly though, was that the fruit had come from him. The man that loved her.

She was his.

He let his lips trace up the column of her neck, whispering kisses that made her shiver again. He let his teeth tug at her ear, and he watched her as she bit her lip harder to keep quiet. How fun it would be to see how long she could hold out.

His free hand travelled along her side, firmly sliding down until he gripped her hip, pulling her closer to him at the same time as he bit down on her neck where it met the shoulder.

An almost animalistic growl escaped him at the sight of her with her back arched, and her head tipped back. Her eyes had slid shut and her mouth hung open, little panting breaths escaping.

He stared at those lips for a moment, before crushing his own to them. She let out a little surprised squeak but it quickly turned into a moan as his teeth pulled at her lips and his tongue demanded entry.

She realised just then exactly _who_ she was kissing and she turned her head away, gasping in the air that was now hot and humid from the bath. He let out a throaty chuckle and kissed the side of her neck again, and she couldn't resist a little sigh as he did so.

His lips ended up back at her ear as he whispered, "And I have power over you as only a man and woman can know between each other."

He leaned back so their eyes met, and he smirked to see hers darkened with desire.

Stepping back way from her, the towel almost made a great escape, but she clutched it to herself once more. She was staring at him, most likely thinking of what to say. "Why—what—what was that about?" she finally managed.

He shrugged. "You've known it all along, Sarah. I told you before I would be your slave, but obviously that doesn't appeal to you. You turned me down. Maybe this is my new approach to get you to return my feelings."

She stared at him. "What feelings are those?"

He laughed then, and before he could stop himself he swooped in for another kiss, quick and fleeting and full of sensual promises. "You said it yourself. The Goblin King has fallen in love with you. I love you, Sarah. I want you to be mine, just as I offered to be yours."

She put a hand to her head, as if she had a headache. "I'm insane after all. That's it. No more fairy tale books."

He looked at her, amused. "And why would this make you insane?"

She glared at him. "You're the Goblin King. You don't know _how_ to love," she shot.

He grinned wider. "Truly you wound me, my lady. I am too capable of love. I left my kingdom just to come and get you, didn't I?"

"Come and get me?"

He shrugged. "Once you realize you love me, it won't be a matter of a few seconds for you to come and rule by my side."

"In a pig's eye!" she spat at him. "I will not leave my life just because you have some skewed view of love that involves me. Go stalk somebody else!"

"Sarah, I have every intention of you coming back with me. What if I can prove it? What if I can prove I love you?"

She eyed him warily. Oh, right now more than anything she wanted to go back with him. Her body was still humming from his touch, but she knew it would be a poor choice if she made it based on physical desire.

"I'll let you attempt and prove your 'love' on one condition:" she stated. When he did not raise any objections, but merely raised an eyebrow, she continued, "you are not allowed to touch me while proving yourself."

Jareth gaped at her. Not touch her? He spent seven years waiting for the day he could! And now, now that he had felt her move under his touch, the way she had moaned into his mouth, and she expected him to abstain? He growled a bit and took a step forward. "I accept your terms, only on the grounds that if you touch me first, I am allowed to reciprocate."

Well, that sounded fair enough, now didn't it? She considered if it might be a trick, but couldn't think of how. All she had to do was not touch him.

"Fine."

"Good," Jareth smiled. "I can't wait. It will, after all, be a _piece of cake_."

She glared at him, catching the reference. "Your cleaners won't save you now," she commented.

"And you have no traitors to aid you this time." He left the bathroom, formulating his plan to bring Sarah back to his bed, and more importantly, his side in the throne room.

…

**AN:** So, that's chapter one! I'm excited to hear what people think, I love to get feedback. : ) On a side note, I've driven one of my co-workes completely bonkers by constantly informing her that she reminds me of the babe (what babe?). She actually resorted to attacking me (in front of a patron) to get me to shut up. I feel very accomplished. I hope that you all stick around for the next exciting installment! :D


	2. Chapter 2

Jareth paced a very small circuit between Sarah's living room and kitchen. How could she stand living in such a small space? Surely she must realise that she could have so much more room if she came back with him.

The whole Underground, for example.

He put that thought in the back of his mind, a bargaining chip for the future perhaps, since there was no way that Sarah would listen to it now. Which was his main problem.

What could he say to make her listen? He had to admit that he hadn't really thought it out when he had offered to prove his love. He just assumed he could.

"What do I have to do?"

The only answer he got was from the shaggy dog lying on the sofa. He let out a big sigh, as if he was used to, and bored of, flamboyant kings strutting about his home. Jareth turned his glare to the dog. "And what do _you_ propose, you mongrel?" he growled at.

It yawned at him.

With an irritated gesture, he shooed Merlin away from the sofa and he seated himself upon it. It was doubtful that Sarah would continue with her bath, not with her knowing that he could just pop into the bathroom at anytime.

Almost to support his thoughts, he heard the sound of water draining from down the hall.

He waited, perched upon the couch for Sarah's entrance. After a moment or two of waiting, he slumped back and scowled.

He didn't know what to do. Or what Sarah expected of him. Or even if he was supposed to stay here tonight or if she expected him to leave.

Jareth did not like not knowing. He was used to holding all the cards, to having the upper hand. To knowing the little details that allowed him to manipulate people.

As much as he hated to admit it, Sarah was holding a fair share of the cards right now.

He ran a gloved hand down his face and sighed heavily, much like the dog had done moments before him. He just needed to think it through, to reason it out. Find out what he knew and then expand.

For one, he knew her complete schedule. Years of obsessive watching had let him know that tomorrow Sarah would get up and go for a run. She would shower when she got home, and then would get ready to face the day. Any errands that needed to be ran got done, and then she sat a desk writing on some papers, he assumed it was to do with her job as for she always brought them with her into that building filled with children.

Quite often she would go and visit Toby, although it wasn't a tradition such as it was on Saturdays. Then it was dinner alone. To bed, alone.

Well then, that was it. He'd just have to show her what it would be like to be with him. He would give her excitement, the ability to have companionship beyond that of children. He would demonstrate just what she was missing, and what she wanted so dearly.

Jareth heard Sarah leave the bathroom and scuttle into her room, her dog running after her. Filthy beast that she allowed to sleep at the foot of her bed, while he was stuck here on the sofa. The tiny sofa. He briefly considered lying down on the floor to go to sleep, so that he could stretch out, but then decided his dignity wouldn't stand for it.

He grinned as he settled himself more comfortably on the couch. Tomorrow, if nothing else, would certainly be interesting.

…

Sarah stared at the door after it closed for several long moments. Jareth was back. He had felt her up _in her own home_, and now was on some asinine mission to prove his so called 'love'.

She snorted indelicately. He knew control and possessiveness. He knew the feeling of being spurned and just wanted to prove he could win at anything. Including getting her. He thought that was love.

Well, if anything, he would learn that he was wrong. He would find out that he didn't know what he was talking about.

Because love to Sarah was a lot more than simply belonging to someone and warming their bed.

Sitting on the edge of the tub, she stared longingly at the water that she wanted so badly to climb into. To relax in.

The thought of Jareth waltzing in while she was lazing about naked stopped her. They never agreed that he couldn't look, after all.

Reaching her hand into the hot water, she pulled the plug. If she pouted a bit while doing it, no one would ever know.

As the water drained, she leaned forwards and put her chin in her hands and whispered, "Where to start?"

She had no idea what he expected of her. Or even of what she expected of him.

_"I'm exhausted of living up to your expectations of me."_

She scoffed. How could he be so tired of living up to them, when she didn't even know what they were? She didn't know what she expected even then. Oh sure, she had asked for everything, but that didn't mean she always thought she would actually get it.

Was he going to stay here? Could he even leave unless she wished him to do so?

Which was a good point. She could march right up to that smug face (where ever he was) and wish that he go away.

But Jareth only ever did what he wanted, so what good would wishing do? She grunted and let her face fall completely into her hands. Even though it wasn't that late, she was so tired.

She'd sleep on it. Sleep on it, and maybe wake up to find it had all been a bad dream.

Quickly, she pulled her clothes on, and then quietly opened the bathroom door. The bathtub had long finished draining, and the sound of the door creaking seemed to echo through the house. Peering down the hall to her left, she could see his booted foot resting as he was lying on the couch, but not his face. It didn't move as Merlin ran up to her and she quickly crossed the hall and slipped in to the bedroom, her dog in tow.

As she got ready for bed, and even later as she lay awake trying to capture sleep that evaded her tired body, she calmed herself with two thoughts. First, he didn't even know how to love. Second, maybe when she finally fell asleep, he will have turned out to be just a dream after all.

…

Sarah woke up to the obnoxious beeping of her alarm clock, and groaned as she rolled over and turned it off. Silence reigned as she threw an arm over her eyes, blocking out the grey morning light that spilled from the window.

She was contemplating snuggling back under her blankets and sleeping the day away, when she felt the cold and wet touch of Merlin's nose as he snuffled against her bare arm. She peeked out at him from under her arm, and saw him waiting for her to get up, happy doggy tongue hanging out.

"I suppose you want to go for a walk, don't you?" she asked him without getting up.

At the word 'walk' Merlin whined happily and shuffled around in one spot.

She laughed and reached out and ruffled the fur on top of her pet's head. How could she resist a face like that?

Not having forgotten the problem of the man (who was probably somewhere in her house), but deciding to deal with it later, she dragged herself out of bed and put on her jogging shorts and tank. Merlin wagged his tail as he saw her getting ready for their morning jog. Well, jog for her. The routine was that she would walk him around the block to tide him over until evening, as for his legs couldn't keep up a quick pace for too long before he got in too much pain.

She closed her door and padded down the hall, freezing when she saw Jareth sprawled out on her sofa.

She would have laughed at the sight of him, his legs hanging over the end, his head pushed forward by the armrest, but she instead found herself simply staring.

He had shucked his billowy white shirt and high boots, leaving him laying there in nothing but his leather pants. His chest was pale, thin with a wiry musculature, and for a moment she felt the urge to cross the room and run her hand down it. Down towards what looked like soft and supple leather, and to what lies beneath…

Sarah shook her head quickly when Merlin bumped into her leg, reminding her of her purpose for even waking. She walked into the living room, intent on leaving, when something else about the sleeping Goblin King drew her attention.

He wasn't wearing his gloves.

His hands were long fingered, almost delicate looking, and she would have assumed them to be weak if she didn't still remember the strength they had possessed yesterday when he had pinned her to the wall. She shivered a bit at the thought, and forcefully put her hand back to her side when it had been on its way to touch her lips in silent memory.

Resolutely telling her hands to stay put and that it hadn't been _that_ big a deal, she went over to the door and shoved on her trainers before slipping outside into the grey and cloudy outdoors.

…

Jareth woke when he heard Sarah's bedroom door open. Her feet stepped lightly down the hall, and he kept his eyes closed and his breathing even to feign sleep.

He knew he was in a state that she had never seen him in before. Undignified. Vulnerable (or so she thought). Half-naked.

Fighting to keep a smirk off his face, he heard her stand in the hall for several moments. She was staring at him. He could feel her eyes on him, burning a path across his skin. He restrained himself from jumping up and grabbing her, to tell her that she could so much than look if she wanted.

But he knew that _probably_ wouldn't be well received.

He felt her kept staring at him.

Probably.

Then her footsteps came closer, and retreated towards the front door. He heard her shuffle about as she put her shoes on and then the quiet click of the door as she closed it behind her.

He sat up, stretching out his back and working the kinks out of his neck. Now that Sarah had got a good look at him, he didn't feel too bad about his decision to sleep on the tiny sofa. If she had walked in and seen him lying on the floor, he would have been too akin to a dog in her eyes.

Then again, he knew from seeing in his crystal that her dog slept in her bed, so maybe that wouldn't have been too bad an idea. Well, except he wasn't a pet. He was very different from a dog that begged to be walked and fed.

He snorted as he realised that he, a king, was comparing himself to a mortal _dog_.

He only had a limited amount of time before she would come back, and in that time he intended to explore. A whole treasury of Sarah awaited his perusal.

The living room had nothing in it but the table and sofa, but there were a few photos on the walls that he studied with interest.

Sarah was with a young boy, Toby he recalled from their 'Saturday Outings', and they both held monstrously large ice cream cones. She looked so happy, holding the bright treat while she laughed with her brother. He felt his own smile slip off his face, knowing that she had never looked at him that way.

The next picture was of Toby with his mother and father, all three posing stiffly together. Looking at the man, he could see little bits and pieces of Sarah in him, and knew he was her father as well. The mother, with her red hair and plastered on smile, didn't seem like she could ever be related to Sarah. There was just no way that such a woman would have given birth to such a dreamer.

The last picture on the wall was of Toby as a baby, wearing the orange and white striped pyjamas that he had been clothed in when he had been taken to the Underground. In this picture, however he was reclined against the large furry side of Sarah's dog. Looking closely at the photo, he noticed it was taken in Sarah's childhood bedroom. He looked closer and he could see, standing among the teddy bears in the background, was a goblin. Her _friend_, Hogwart.

His lip curled as he remembered watching her celebrating his supposed defeat. How delighted she had been to rescue her baby brother. What a hero.

A foolish hero who had refused her dreams.

Turning away from the photos with a scowl, Jareth made a beeline for Sarah's bedroom. He didn't have any issue finding it in the small house, and he smiled wildly when he stepped inside.

He had seen glimpses of the room when he watched Sarah through the crystal, but he had never really fixated on the room itself, only the occupant.

The only signs that Sarah lived her life dreaming of fairy tales, was the sheer number of fantasy novels on the overfilled bookshelf, and one painting that hung above her bed. He stared at the painting, having never really paid much attention to it before.

It was a labyrinth.

He smiled. It seemed a part of him was already in her bedroom.

The rest of the room was a slight surprise for Jareth. Her bed had chocolate coloured sheets on them, silk from the looks of it. The carpet was beige, and it looked thick and luxurious to the touch. Roman blinds that matched the colour of the carpet hung open over a bay window, which was stacked with many books. He could catch the slightly floral scent that she favoured, but also the smell that was distinctly and uniquely _Sarah_.

All in all, it appeared as if Sarah was quite the hedonist, if her bedroom was anything to go by.

Faintly he heard the gate to the backyard open and close, as Merlin was let loose. He knew that meant she was about to embark on her own exercise.

He went over and lied down on her bed, breathing in her smell, and smirking as he realised that she would be able to smell him on her sheets the next time she went to sleep. That the bed felt good on his sore back was just an added bonus.

………………………………

_**AN:**_ Sorry for the limited amount of interaction, but this was the only place I could break of this chapter without making it suuuuper long, and then you would all begin to expect really long chapters! On an awesomer super fantastic note, I am just in awe of all my amazing reviewers! Thanks for the support guys, you reallllly made my week! I do want to warn you all though, to not expect updates to always be this speedy. I have two other WIPs on the go, and I neglected one to get this chapter up. Now the guilt is gnawing at me and I have to go update it (even though no one reads it. :P) or I'll be thinking about it ALL DAY.

On ANOTHER note, I made Sarah teacher without realising that she is a teacher in the Manga 'Return to the Labyrinth' (which I found out via Wikipedia). I guess other people saw this as a logical profession for her as well…?

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Let me know whatcha think! :D


	3. Chapter 3

Sarah closed the gate behind Merlin, patted her dog on the head, and turned to finish her morning jog, her dog watching her as she ran off. The air felt cool on her skin, her short walk not doing much to warm her up. She rubbed her arms to try and get rid of her goosebumps and took off at a brisk jog.

The only sounds on the quiet Sunday morning was her own feet pounding on the pavement, her own breathing as she puffed it out evenly. No cars drove down the quiet street, it still being too early for people to begin their pilgrimages to church, many others staying at home in the happy embraces of their blankets and pillows.

She wondered briefly if she was right to leave Jareth all by himself in her house. It seemed… well it seemed rude to just ditch him like that.

Sarah frowned as she turned the corner, continuing at her quick pace. Just because Jareth had picked up on one careless sentence and decided to pop in, didn't mean she was going to alter her life to make things easier for him. No, whatever he decided to do, it had better not involve her making the first move. He'd be waiting a long time if that were the case.

Her breathing started to come out heavier and she felt decidedly warmer now that her blood was pumping faster. She grinned while the cool air fanned at her face, finishing her jog in a meditative silence.

When she got home, Jareth was no longer in the living room, but she remained steadfast in her determination to live her life as she would if he wasn't here and refrained from going to look for him. Grabbing a towel from the linen closet, she went into the washroom. She locked the door for good measure.

Hot water soothed her muscles, tense from stress and from exercise, and she felt herself relax despite herself. She had the rest of her Sunday to just lounge about; to read, to do some marking that sat glaring at her from her desk. That was what she intended to do. Have her day to herself and forget about Jareth.

Except she couldn't help but wonder what he was up to right now. Or what he had planned. Or if he had _anything_ planned.

Sighing, she turned off the water for the shower and stood in the hot steam until the cold crept in. She forced herself to hop out into the cold air, and then quickly wrapped her towel around herself. She looked at her sweaty shorts and top desolately, before deciding to make the dash to her room in her towel.

Scooping up her clothing, she opened the door to the bathroom and flew directly across the hall to her bedroom. She dropped the jogging clothes in the plastic clothes' hamper by the door (whose contents needed to be washed soon) and then froze. Jareth was lying on her bed, seeming to all the world as if he were sound asleep.

First off, what the hell was he doing in _her_ bed?

Second off, was he really asleep? Because if he was, then she could change hurriedly before booting him out from under her covers. If he was faking, then he would get a nice view while she tried to cover up her modesty.

She glared at the maybe-sleeping form of the Goblin King and made up her mind.

Pulling her towel tighter she marched over to the bed. She grabbed the covers and gave them a firm tug, revealing Jareth lying on his stomach and clad only in his pants, much as he was earlier in the morning.

No amount of royal flesh would distract her. Okay, maybe her eyes lingered a little longer than necessary on the pale expanse of his back, but other than that, there would be no _major _distractions.

"Hey, Your Royal Pain In My Butt!" she called loudly.

He muttered something and rolled over.

Sarah bit her lip to keep from cursing (something she never did, lest she get into the habit of it and swear in front of her class), clenched her fists, and leaned over to grab his shoulder and flip him over.

Soon as her hand came into contact with his skin, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her off balance. With a startled yelp and some flailing, although he never let go of her wrist, she landed half on the bed and half on top of him in an undignified heap.

She held her towel closed at the top, but it gaped open past where her hand clutched, and she could feel her skin pressed against his. Face red, from anger and embarrassment both, she wrenched her wrist out of his grip, and rolled away from him as quickly as possible.

Jareth grinned at her predictable move as she retreated. He had indeed been awake from the moment she had entered the room, and it had taken considerable self-control to not go and help her dry off properly.

Now as he looked at her, flushed, hair still wet, and clad in only in a towel (again) he couldn't help but think it was worth whatever tirade she was about to unleash upon him. He crossed his hands behind his bed as he continued to recline upon her bed.

He wasn't disappointed. "What do you think you're doing?" she demanded after a moment.

Shrugging as best he could from his laid back position he replied, "Just stretching out after being cramped up on that thing you call a sofa out there." He gestured with his head towards the living room.

She huffed at him. "And what made you think you could just- just… _manhandle_ me?!"

He raised a dramatic eyebrow. "I thought when you grabbed me it was an invitation. After all, I cannot touch you unless you do so first."

She was kicking herself for that now, he was sure. She probably hadn't even had a second thought to reach out and give him a piece of her mind. He'd tried to teach her once that words have power, but now it looked as if he'd need to show her that actions do as well.

"You didn't realize, that if you had wanted to get dressed in private you could have just grabbed your clothes and headed back into the bathroom?"

Her eyes widened and he knew that, no, she hadn't realised. She began spluttering in frustration, "I- just because- You… This is ridiculous! I shouldn't have to sneak around my own home just to get dressed. Out!" She pointed at the door, much like the way she did to command Merlin to leave when he was tracking mud through the house.

She couldn't help but watch his muscles move as he gracefully removed himself from her bed. With one last sweeping glance down her body, he left the room with a swagger, shutting the door behind him.

Sarah growled as she pulled her towel off and dried her hair with it. Blasted… Goblin. Lounging around as if he were, well as if he were a king.

_Which he is_, she had to remind herself.

If she ended up going back with him, would she have to put up with this arrogance all the time?

Whoa, who said there was any _if_ about it? She wasn't going. She couldn't leave her family. Or her class. Or Merlin. Or her own house. Or (until recently) her privacy.

She flounced over to her dresser, and hurriedly got dressed into what had become somewhat of a norm for her: a billowy skirt (this time in a deep green) and a crisp linen blouse (in white). Blow drying her hair and leaving it down, she turned to analyze her work in the mirror.

She looked as she always did. Like a child in an adult's body. Loose hair making her look slightly childish, but she couldn't bring herself to tie it back. It stayed down unless it made its life's goal to get in her way.

No makeup. No jewellery. Just wide-eyed, brown haired, average height Sarah.

Well, she wasn't going to change if she just kept staring at herself. Head held high; she went and left the temporary security of her bedroom.

She saw from down the hall, that Jareth was sitting, no _lounging_, on her sofa while holding one of her old and battered paperbacks. He had a smirk on his face, and Sarah was suddenly desperately curious as to what book he was reading.

Padding down the hall barefoot (probably unwise in the late October air), she walked up to the couch. Her curiousity was slightly stamped down by irritation when he didn't even bother to look up at her, but she still wanted to know what he was reading— his hand was covering the title.

She walked around the back of the couch so she could peer over his shoulder, but just as she leaned around him to look at it, he said, "You know, it's far more polite to just ask what book it is, rather than snooping over my shoulder."

She jumped at the suddenness of his voice, and grabbed the back of the sofa to steady herself. She flushed again (that seemed to be a common occurrence over the last day or two), and mumbled out an apology.

Silence stretched for a moment between them.

"Well, are you going to tell me?" she finally inquired, not moving from behind the couch.

"Well, are you going to ask?" he returned, and although she couldn't see his face properly, she would have sworn he was smiling.

She pinched the bridge of her nose and silently counted to ten. "What book are you reading?"

"Oh, you know, nothing too interesting. Just some old thing called _The Labyrinth_."

Sarah felt surprised for a moment, but as she thought about it, it made sense he would pick up that old thing. He did have a taste for the dramatic, after all.

"You're right," she replied nonchalantly, "it isn't very interesting." She shrugged and walked into her kitchen, leaving Jareth very dissatisfied with her response. He wanted to get a rise out of her, she knew, but as she had told him last night, he could not longer manipulate her.

Or so she hoped.

"Would you like some breakfast?" she asked, not quite sure if he actually ate.

He looked up with, what she thought to be a look of faint surprise. Whatever the look was, it was quickly smothered by a smile. "That would be wonderful."

Unsure of how to reply, she just smiled back at him, hoping that it didn't look as shy as it felt. To hide her embarrassment, she scurried around the kitchen, putting together a light meal for them.

If royalty wasn't used to toast and eggs, Jareth made no comment as he tucked into his breakfast. Well, she tucked in. He seemed to have much better table manners than she, but she just couldn't bring herself to care. She was hungry, she was in her own home, and she had made the food. Who cared if she looked a little… less refined?

He didn't get any food on his face or hands and ate with an easy grace. She kept herself from scowling.

He'd probably make the queen look unrefined.

"Y'know I thought for the king of _goblins_ that you would be a bit messier," she commented.

He grinned rakishly at her. "I thought for a woman of such beauty that you would be a bit neater."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh, touché. Surely you wound me with your rapier sharp wit," she said dryly.

He grinned wider, but said nothing as he continued to eat.

The rest of the meal was finished in a slightly awkward silence, each other only feeling slightly at ease after their banter. Sarah cleared their plates away and placed them in the sink to be washed later.

Standing in front of the sink, she placed her hands on her hips and stared at Jareth, waiting for him to speak.

However, he seemed to be content to simply stare back at her. The silence stretched.

She found herself noticing, despite herself, the relative ease that he balanced such a domestic situation with his aristocratic air. He made her house feel small (well, smaller) and inadequate, yet it just felt… normal— _right_ that he should be here.

Well, maybe it wasn't that he belonged in her house, but that he belonged with _her_.

Her eye twitched. _Treacherous thoughts!_ Her mind began to rail at her, vehemently squashing the faint pull she felt in her chest.

_He doesn't _love_ you,_ she reminded herself sternly. _He may care for you, he may want you, but that's not love._

Her eyes locked with his and she found herself staring into them. She saw his arrogance there, but it didn't seem to be solely directed at her. Just a part of who he was: his confidence, his station. No amusement was dancing there at the moment as he returned her regard intently, his gaze so sharp he reminded her of his owl shape. She did see, though, his care for her. It was there, if not fully realised why it was, or even if it had any warmth.

_What _is_ love?_ Her heart seemed to whisper to her over the yelling her mind was doing. _And what does _he_ think love is?_

Unable to bear the silence with the contesting emotions her heart and mind were putting her through, tearing down walls and putting them back up, Sarah blurted out, "Well?"

Jareth blinked and shook himself out of what must have been his own reverie.

She doubted he thought much on the meaning of love, though.

"'Well' what?" he asked.

"Well… aren't you going to… I don't know, _do_ something?"

He answered her slowly, and she could tell he was carefully choosing his words, "I thought you would like to get our work done, relax a bit, have some time to yourself, before I… 'do something'."

Her mind began to whirl again. Who was this… compassionate person? Where was the man who thought only of himself? Where was his thick veneer of contempt and condescension?

As if he had read her thoughts, he stood and moved as if to take her hands, before stopping their journey so they hung awkwardly in mid air. He put them back to his sides. "Sarah, I realise you have your own life. I don't want to steal you away from it."

"And what do you want to do?"

He didn't answer, and Sarah heaved a sigh. It was empty words. Just him trying to convince her to go back with him to the Underground. She made to move past him, frustrated that she had almost allowed herself to be swayed by pretty sentiments.

"Sarah, wait." His voice, though soft, was a command.

She paused in midstep, and turned to face him.

"I don't want to steal it from you," he repeated looking slightly confused. "I want to share it with you."

She was surprised for a moment before her former (and unresovled) internal war resumed. _Empty words! Pretty sentiments!_ Her mind was screaming at her, telling her to leave, wanting her to get out of there pronto. But her heart seemed to ache, to freeze in her chest, and tell her to just listen.

Jareth seemed almost as surprised at his own words, and hurriedly cleared his throat. "Go, do whatever it is that needs to be doing," he said. His voice even, his eyes steadfastly on her face, but she knew, she _knew_, that he was uncomfortable with what he had just said.

She nodded and walked into her room to mark papers.

Jareth remained standing stiffly until he heard her door click shut, before he shoved his hands in his hair in frustration.

What the hell had made him say that? Tell her he wanted to _share_ lives?

_I just said it to make her come back with me_.

But he couldn't make himself believe that. The words had just felt so right, still felt so right, even though Jareth had never shared anything in his life.

Yet now, he knew he would. He would do anything for her. Just for her.

He glanced at the clock. It was only 8:30. He didn't have anything planned for the two of them until the evening.

Today was going to be a long day of waiting.

…………………………………………

_**AN:**_ Well, I was going to include Jareth's plans for the evening, but I just know that those will take a while to write. So instead I will give you this chapter to tide you over until he can get his game on, eh? :P

Hope you all like it, and that you'll let me know whatcha think. :)


	4. Chapter 4

The house was dead quiet, and Jareth was pretty sure it was going to drive him insane. Sarah had locked herself in her room, doing God knows what for the last 11 hours. Well, she may have ventured out. He did pop out of her house at one point to check on his kingdom to see if it was still standing. Good news. It was.

The one time he had tried to knock to see if he was allowed in he had been yelled at that she was busy and would emasculate him if he entered. Deciding to play it safe, Jareth waited in the living room. Just him and the silence.

As if it were in answer to his thoughts, the fridge began to hum rather loudly. His eye twitched. The electrical sound was far more aggravating than the quiet had been.

How did she stand this? The silence, the little irritating noises that filtered through tot scratch at your ears. The cacophony of the goblins in his throne room was at least something he could control. He could tell them to be silent anytime he so wanted. Well, mostly. The goblins who inhabited the castle and the labyrinth were essentially children. Loud and rambunctious children who just needed a strict ruler to prepare them for life beyond the labyrinth. Then they could roam the entirety of his lands without being slaughtered in the pursuit of shenanigans.

It was lucky for Sarah that she hadn't met a mature goblin. She wouldn't have stood much of a chance if she had.

A scratching noise joined the hum refrigerator. Looking around, Jareth realised it was coming from the back door in the kitchen.

Uncertain of what to do, but sufficiently bored to chance a little adventure, Jareth crossed the room and opened the door.

Sarah's large dog trotted inside, his fur misted from the fine drizzle the dark clouds had decided to let fall.

Jareth frowned and shut the door with a click. "Are you supposed to be in here?" he asked as the dog made his way into the living room.

His frown deepened as he was summarily ignored. He made to grab the dog by the collar and throw him out, if only to be rid of the dank smell he was emitting, when suddenly the dog gave a mighty shake.

The Goblin King found himself spluttering as more water than he would have thought possible to be hiding on that dog was sprayed all over him. He glared as he wiped foul smelling water off his face. "I've killed for less than that, I'll have you know," he informed the dog icily.

Merlin regarded him back happily, unconcerned that he was the source of the man's ire.

With a growl, Jareth stepped forward and grabbed the dog by the collar (after fishing around for it amongst all the fur) and began to forcibly drag him to the door.

After two steps the dog let out a yelp, stumbled, but kept walking, albeit with a pronounced limp. Jareth continued pulling him along.

When he reached the kitchen and flung open the door, it was to discover the faint drizzle had become a pouring rain. The sky was black, and lightening flashed across the sheets of water. Thunder boomed and the dog cowered, fighting against the man who was pulling him forwards. The dog whined low, in obvious pain and distress.

Jareth stopped his fight and contemplated the old thing. It was favouring its front left leg, and whining pathetically.

What was he to do? Throw an injured… _pet_ out into the rain?

He checked a sigh and slammed the door shut. "You're too much trouble to be just an ordinary dog," he informed him.

Merlin snuffled at his pant leg.

Jareth absent-mindedly patted him on the head and returned to the couch, ignoring the dog as it followed him to lie heavily by his feet.

His thoughts had already turned. To the couch.

How he hated that couch.

Leaning forward, he carded his gloved hands through Merlin's fur as the dog whined whenever the thunder roared.

He could burn it. Burning it sounded like quite a brilliant idea actually. Then he could place his own bed here instead. He frowned. There was no way his bed would fit in her tiny living room. The loveseat already dominated most of the room. What the hell was he supposed to do?

Of course, the ideal solution would be for him to share a bed with Sarah, but with her 'no touching' policy, it seemed like a bit much to hope for his second day in her home.

Which still didn't solve the dilemma that he was _not_ sleeping on this couch for another night.

Whatever. A bed could take up her living room. Served her right for hiding away in her room all day.

The thunder crashed again, and this time the dog let out a howl as he huddled down by the couch. In response to the noise of her beloved pet, Sarah finally emerged from her room. She rushed down the hall, before kneeling in front of the couch to comfort her dog.

"You're how old, and you still get scared when it rains? You big baby," she said to him in a soft voice, running her fingers through his fur. Jareth stared at her as she ignored him for the dog.

When she finally drew back from the mongrel and looked up at the man on her couch, Jareth was struck with the thought of a whole other activity she could do whilst on her knees. He mentally batted the thought away, and simply raised an eyebrow at her.

"Are you finished being hermited in your room?" he asked bluntly, enjoying the flush that spread across her face. He didn't know why she was blushing, but it was still nice to see it.

"I was doing work. For my job," she responded tartly, turning to pet her dog again.

We waited until the silence got uncomfortable enough for her to look up at him again. "It took you all day to finish?"

"Today seemed like a good day to get caught up," she said archly, looking away from his scrutiny.

How did she do that? Mix bashful Sarah with sassy, sarcastic Sarah? It was an intoxicating dichotomy, and he was growing more and more addicted the longer he stayed around her.

Her eyes were on him again, look up from under her lashes. She was trying to be covert in her assessment of him, and he made sure to keep his face carefully blank. No, he wasn't the delightful open book that she was.

"So you're all 'caught up', then?" he asked, watching her jump at his sudden question.

She didn't answer for a moment, and Jareth almost groaned at the thought of her going back into her room.

"…I guess so," she ground out finally, her eyes still on her dog. The storm seemed to be lessening, and the dog had relaxed a significant amount since his owner's arrival.

He stood up and stretched out. "Good. Then I guess it's time to go."

Sarah straightened up instantly. "Go? Go where?" she asked sharply, looking out the window at the dark skies that remained after the thundershower.

"It won't be raining I assure you. Nor is there any reason to change," Jareth informed her. He stepped into her personal space, and she fought to keep from stepping back away from him.

Or from drawing him closer.

He leaned in closer. "All you need to do is take my hand," he said quietly, his voice filled with mystery and promises and dreams that could really come true…

His outstretched hand, back in its leather glove, was waiting for hers to take it. His other hand held a clear crystal; there for whatever magic he was about to use. She glanced up at his intense face nervously, before placing her own tentative hand into his much larger, surer one.

Her skin came into contact with supple leather, and she barely had time to register how soft it was before she was hauled up completely against his body. He threw the crystal to the ground, and the next thing Sarah knew she was being hurtled around through a black space, filled with brilliant colours and flashing lights. The dizzying dance of what almost seemed to be fireworks and miniature explosions made her eyes cross, and her head hurt. She felt herself being whipped about, her hair tangling around her face as she was pulled in different directions. Wind roared painfully loud in her ears.

With no where else safe to turn to, she closed her eyes and twisted her body so she was hugging Jareth tightly. Anchored to him, the sharp yanks of momentum seemed lessened, the colours dimmed as she buried her face in his chest.

Then everything was quiet, still. She stood against Jareth, her heart racing, her chest heaving to catch her breath. Once she had determined where up and down was, the next sensation she had was cool grass under her bare feet.

Disentangling herself from the death grip she had on Jareth, she found herself to be outside… well, somewhere outside.

They were in a small clearing, surrounded by what looked like very old trees. They were still adorned with lush, green leaves, even though the trees in Sarah's hometown had long ago lost most of their leaves. The grass was thick and luxurious, almost like carpet and Sarah ginned wriggling her toes in it happily.

The sky was a cloudless black, with stars and a moon that seemed to be much farther away than normal. Their twinkling lights dimmed tiny specks, barely winking in the distance. No streetlights destroyed the perfect blanket above them, and even though they were small and not as bright as she was used to, Sarah still found her self marvelling at how many she could see without buildings and lights destroying the view.

The only other thing in the clearing besides the two people, was a small pond. Very small, it looked only to be about the size of a child's plastic wading pool that a person might find in a backyard. Sarah could only see the barest bit of water, because the grass banked of incredibly steeply. It was almost as if someone had just taken a circle cookie cutter shape out of the earth.

Jareth watched as Sarah observed her surroundings in a silent wonder. Her eyes were wide, and her mouth slightly parted. She leaned forward slightly, trying to get a better look at the pond, but couldn't from their vantage point.

"Where are we?" she breathed in awe, spinning to face Jareth again.

"Surely you do not think that you had seen all of my kingdom when you spent your whole time running my labyrinth?"

"I never actually thought about it," she admitted, slightly shame faced.

"Come here," he said softly, and before she knew it her feet had moved her to step towards him. She didn't have far to go, but it still seemed to take her longer than normal to reach him.

He put his hands out so the hovered on either side of her arms, and stared at her. Knowing what he was asking without words, Sarah nodded, and he grabbed her arms. She wasn't expecting it when he then pulled her close to him and wrapped his arms loosely around her waist. He buried his face in her hair and said quietly, "There's so much that you still need to see."

Leaning back, Sarah couldn't believe what she was seeing. This Jareth was so… sweet. So unlike the King she had met, faced, and bested when she had ran the labyrinth.

"What… what happened to you?" she asked, unsure of how he would respond.

He didn't seem to need an explanation to what she was fairly certain could be viewed as a random question. "Sarah, I will always do what you want of me. I took the child when you asked," she stiffened at the reminder, but let him continue, "I let you take a try at getting him back, I gave you the confrontation with the villain you so craved. Now you don't want a villain. You expect one, but that's not what you want."

Sarah shook her head, her chest hurting. "You're wrong," she whispered. "You think I want you to be soft, and caring, and— and _sweet_ like you are now. But I don't."

Jareth cocked his head. "Indeed?"

Sarah stepped out of the protective circle of his arms, out of the intimacy they represented. "No. I don't. You _aren't_ those things. I want to see who _you_ are. If I go back with you, and I'm not saying that I will, it won't be to be with who you pretend to be here. You'll act like yourself… and then I'll be stuck with someone I don't know."

He narrowed his eyes at her, considering her words. "You've really thought it all out, haven't you?" he asked, his voice emotionless.

Swallowing, she nodded.

"Well then. What would you do, how would you react if I told you _this_ is who I am?" He gestured around the romantic setting. "What if I am exactly as you saw at our final _confrontation_?" he sneered.

Closing in on her, he invaded her personal space; circled her like a predator, looking her up and down. "Sarah, dear Sarah. You don't get it do you?"

Her breath hitched and she stiffened, but said nothing.

"I am 'sweet' as you so put it. I am also as I have told you before… cruel. I will do as I please Sarah, whether it be reaching for your heart in the manner I see fit or whether it be turning hours back on a clock."

His words were ricocheting through her mind. It was true, so true that he just simply did as he pleased. Like a spoiled child, but infinitely more calculating and clever.

"So you act on whims? Not because you mean it?" she asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Lying is for people who are afraid of consequences. I say what I mean. I do what I feel," he retorted with a sniff. His face softened when he saw the confusion and distress on Sarah's, his love's, face. "But that isn't why we are here now. I said there is so much you still need to see, come with me." He walked away from her, heading in the direction of the pond.

Hesitating, Sarah wondered if she should follow him. Part of her was aching to simply follow him whereever he should go, no matter what one of his moods he may be wearing. The other, rational part of her was screaming that being with such an unpredictable person was a risk.

She ended up following him.

Only because she was curious about the pond, which seemed to now have light rising up from it.

Certainly not because it felt like something was pulling her along behind him.

When they reached the edge of the pond, Jareth sunk down to his knees and gestured for her to do the same, which she did. Looking into the pond was anti-climatic. There was just water in it, like any normal pool at home.

"What do you see?" Jareth asked her, inclining his head towards the water.

"I see water," she replied archly.

He rolled his eyes at her attitude. "What about the reflection?"

"Oh. Well, I can sort of see the moon and stars," she wrinkled her nose and squinted at the water's surface. "But they're blurry. It is water, not a mirror," she reminded him.

"You're doing it again," Jareth said. At her confused look, he elaborated, "Only seeing what you wish to see. Open your mind, like you had to in my labyrinth. Look again."

Sarah closed her eyes in frustration. How on earth did one open their mind on command? Taking a deep breath through her nose, she slowly opened her eyes.

She gasped.

"What do you see?" Jareth asked again.

"The universe," she answered him, entranced by the vision in front of her.

The pond seemed to give way right into a pit to outer space. An endless amount of black stretched out with a depth that knew no bounds. Giant planets spun incredibly fast, bright splashes of colours dusted with lights streaked by, stars were born and died. Giant chunks of rock hurtled through frictionless space and collided mightily. The colours warred with each other in their radiance, the planets fighting amongst themselves for the most grandeur. Bright orange, emerald green, neon pink. Then a profound emptiness that seemed to bring everything to a crashing halt, before the parade began again. It almost reminded her of the cacophonous and unsettling trip to get to their current location, but without the rushing about of her own body, she could appreciate the view in amazement.

Her breath was caught in her throat. It was so beautiful. She wanted to ask how it worked, but didn't really need to. She already knew.

Magic.

She could feel it tangibly sliding across her skin, tickling along her lips, pulling at her senses in silent greeting. Still the cosmic dance in front of her continued.

Tearing her eyes away, she looked up at Jareth whom seemed to be as enraptured by the sights as she was. "What is this?" she asked, breaking his concentration on the images rushing past his vision.

He somehow managed to make a shrug look elegant. "Honestly? I couldn't tell you. It's been here for as long as I've been around."

Sarah looked at him shrewdly. "And how long _have_ you been around?"

He shrugged again. "A long time," he answered, his attention diverting back to what had before appeared to be nothing but an innocuous pond.

Sarah was forcibly reminded that nothing was ever as it seems.

Her eyelids felt heavy, and she couldn't help but think of the rotten sleep she had got paired early start that she had to the day. The grass felt so soft beneath her, cool but not so cold as to be uncomfortable. Refreshing, but not enough to keep her awake.

She looked at Jareth, sitting back while propped up by his arms, his attention rapt on the pond.

Her limbs felt sluggish. Her eyes kept falling shut.

Next thing she knew, she had curled up on the grass, threading her fingers through the soft green blades.

"Why did you bring me here?" she inquired sleepily.

"Because I thought you would enjoy it."

"That's all?"

He looked over at her. "No. I also wanted you to see that there are wonders here you could appreciate. Things you cannot find with anyone else." His voice was softer than she was used to.

"Nice," she murmured, not specifying if she meant the view in front of her, or the actions of the man beside her.

Her eyes finally slid shut, and she fell asleep there in the Goblin Kingdom, a pair of mismatched eyes watching her long into the night. She didn't even wake when he gathered her gently into his arms, manifest a crystal, and smashed it.

She dreamt of being held tightly and securely by a pair of strong arms, of leaning back and listening to a steady heartbeat, all while watching stardust and heavens dance by her.

…………………………….

**AN:** And there is chapter four! Sorry for the delay, but as it so often does, life seemed to get in the way of fanfiction. :P For some reason (a conspiracy against me, no doubt) I have been called into work an extraordinary amount of times over the last week or so. On two other side notes, one, I have to tell everybody how stoked I am for Feb. 17th. The day that the Arrogant Worms are coming to my town. If you haven't heard of them… then you're probably not Canadian. : P Two, even though (as I've said) I'm new to the world of Labyrinth, I am not a stranger to David Bowie. So, through out this whole chapter I refrained from using the line 'crazy cosmic jive'. Bonus points to whoever can tell me where that song's from! :D

Hope you all enjoyed the chapter!


	5. Chapter 5

She was warm. So warm and cosy. Sleep drifted around her, and she felt languid and tired. It wasn't until she started to stretch the sleep out of her system that she froze. Not only did she have no idea what time it was (and it was a school day), but there was an arm splayed across her waist.

Looking over, she saw a mass of white-blonde hair that announced Jareth's presence in her bed. He lay on his stomach, with his face turned away from her, but his arm was still draped across her. He appeared to still be asleep.

She pushed the thought that he was in her bed out of her mind, as her eyes flew over to glance at the alarm clock on her nightstand. Green numbers informed her that it was still quite early, and she still had an abundance of time to get ready for the day. She was safe in that regard.

Gingerly, so as not to wake him, she extricated herself from her bed. She breathed a sigh of relief to see she was still in the clothes she had worn with him when that had visited the… pond. She had no idea what to even call it.

As for Jareth— he was just Jareth. Seeing him laying across most of her bed (it was a wonder he hadn't shoved her off during the night) he really did seem human. His face was soft in his sleep, and he was almost, well, _cute_ with the way his hair was in his face. One strand moved with his steady breaths as he continued his slumber.

Her alarm clock stared at her from the nightstand. Okay, maybe her abundance of time was starting to dwindle with every moment spent staring at Jareth. Time to get ready.

Quietly as she could, Sarah gathered up her clothes for the day and slipped from her room and into the washroom across the hall.

She showered, got dressed, and left her clothes from yesterday in a pile behind the bathroom door to deal with later. Going into the living room, she saw Merlin curled up on the couch, and she felt a wave of guilt wash over her. Granted, the storm had been ending when she had left with Jareth, but Merlin had probably been scared still.

At the sound of her approach, the dog lifted his head and yawned widely. He slowly slid his way off the couch stretching as he went, before he padded towards the back door, waiting to be let out. His happy face and shuffling steps didn't show any indication that he was upset about being left by himself last night.

Sarah still couldn't help running over to him and hugging him tightly, apologies being muffled by his fur. Merlin patiently waited for her to finish, before pointedly walking in place.

She opened the door and let him gingerly step his way down the back steps and into the yard. She watched as he sauntered through the mud, and she grimaced at the sight. He would need to be washed before he was allowed back inside. That was always a monumental task.

Closing the door, she turned into the kitchen and went about making herself breakfast, which was really just toast and coffee. When she was finished her standard fare, she grabbed a pad of paper and a pen off her counter and scribbled a note to Jareth. Just because she didn't want him to become a destructive force if left to his own devices. Not because she thought he might like to know where she was going.

_Jareth, _

_I am going to be at work today, so don't hang around waiting for me. I'm sure you have kingly stuff you need to get done. Anyway, help yourself to the fridge, and __do not let Merlin into the house__. Unless you can magic him clean or some such thing you goblins do. _

She paused, not knowing what else to write. Eventually she just signed her name at the bottom. No 'sincerely', 'regards', or 'love'. Just Sarah.

Putting the note on the coffee table, where he was sure to see it, Sarah tiptoed in her room to grab her briefcase, now stuffed full with marked work. One last glance at the sleeping figure (now laying on his back with an arm across his face. He sure did seem to move quite a bit in his sleep) and she exited her room, and her home shortly after.

The air was cooler today after the rainfall, and Sarah felt grateful that she had grabbed a jacket to put on over her blouse. The air nipped at her uncovered hands, and she wondered how much a nice pair of leather gloves would cost. A pair like Jareth's; soft, supple, warm… like how they had felt against her skin.

No! No thoughts about Goblin hands before work. She could fantasise later. For now, it would do to simply concentrate on her walking to school. Yeah, walking. Left foot, then right foot. No hands involved.

Half an hour of only footsteps later, Sarah approached the school she worked at. Using her key card she opened the doors and let herself in. The lights were on, as was normal. Although early, Sarah was never the first one to enter the building. That honour went to Mr. Johnstone, a teacher who had been at the school since Sarah had been a wide-eyed child wandering the halls and reciting lines from battered old fantasy novels.

Entering the staff room, Sarah saw the old teacher sitting in his customary armchair. He had the newspaper in front of him, along with one of the largest mugs of coffee that Sarah had ever seen before coming to work at Jefferson Elementary. His bald head had a slight shine on it from the fluorescent lighting, and his incredibly thick glasses were almost touching the article he was reading.

"Despicable!" he shouted at the paper, wildly brandishing a pen at it. He grumbled something about taxpayer's money and lack of respect from the municipal government. Sarah grinned a bit as she set her briefcase down and took a seat.

He glanced up with a faint look of surprise. "Sarah! Just the girl I needed!" He leapt up with surprising agility for a man of his age and ran over to the outdated computer kept in the corner of the room. Sarah dutifully followed him.

"I need you to just explain this one more time," he muttered as he clicked open a window on the computer screen.

Sarah checked a sigh. Ever since the attendance had been switched over to computer systems, Mr Johnstone had been hopelessly in the dark. He had enlisted a willing, albeit not entirely proficient Sarah, to aid him in conquering the program. A brilliant man in many aspects, technology certainly wasn't one of them. He did approach the subject with a childlike exuberance, but nothing seemed to stick. He still called the mouse 'the rat'.

Sarah thought it may just be to irritate her. She could never be sure when he was making a joke or not.

After another lesson on computers (and several colourful curse words from her senior co-worker), Mr Johnstone swore that he would nail it this time. Sarah smiled and told him that he had better make sure he did. She wasn't sure how else to explain it to him.

She exited the staff room and went into her classroom to prepare for the day. Thoughts of the Goblin King were pushed aside as she prepared the spelling test she had promised her students on Monday. It would be a good day.

…

Jareth woke up entangled in silk sheets that smelled like Sarah. He stretched languorously and rolled over, only to be met with empty bed. He sat up and ran a hand through his hair in confusion. Where had she got to?

Looking at the clock revealed that it was actually only a few minutes past noon. Concluding that she must have gone off to work, Jareth got out of bed and considered what to do next. His clothes needed to be changed again, and he also needed to check in on his kingdom. Nodding in decision, he transported himself into his private rooms in his castle.

Ignoring the plush room, he headed straight for his wardrobe and grabbed an outfit very close to what he was already wearing. Clean clothes donned, he felt magically refreshed and clean. Getting dressed as a substitute for a shower saved amazing amounts of time. Not wasting another moment, he headed into his throne room.

The noise was considerable, as was the norm for the rambunctious young goblins. Upon seeing him, several cheered and ran up. They told him all about some plan they had, involving slingshot and a chicken, while they crowded in on him, grabbing at him with grubby fingers. He smiled and nodded, and smiled some more. A goblin shoved into him. Another one stomped on his foot by accident.

"Enough!" roared Jareth when his patience had exceeded its limit. All the goblins froze, not quite sure what they had done wrong. Pinching the bridge of his nose Jareth waved a dismissive hand at them. They all took off, rather than face his growing ire.

Grabbing one goblin before it managed to escape with its friends, Jareth asked it, "Where is Jory?"

The goblin grinned. "He's upstairs!"

Jareth tightened his grip on the arm he was holding until the goblin winced. "Where upstairs is he?"

"In The Paper Room!" the goblin yelled out. Jareth nodded and let go of his captive, who took off cackling after his playmates. Jareth scowled at its behaviour, and turned to go to the office where most of his paper work was done.

The younger goblins normally called his office 'The Paper Room', due to the seriousness associated with it, and because they thought 'office' was too odd of a word for a room that largely dealt with paper. Jareth, not normally having the patience to sit at a desk and write, had one of his more senior advisors deal with all the mundane tasks.

After several flights of stairs (one of which was invisible and took considerable trust in the castle to climb), Jareth entered into his office. The room wasn't of spectacular size, and a large desk, covered in high stacks of paper, occupied most of the space. The walls were not actually walls, but rather floor to ceiling filing cabinets, containing everything from ancient scrolls to scraps of paper.

Behind the desk was a troll that was the same height as Jareth when standing, but much, much burlier than the Goblin King. The goblin's eyes were a deep burgundy colour, surrounded by yellow. They seemed small though, in his squashed face and sitting next to a large hooked nose. A prominent underbite was emphasised by large and sharp looking teeth. All in all, he cut quite an intimidating figure.

Or at least he would, if it weren't for the small glasses that were perched upon his crooked nose, and the way he sat hunched over the desk.

Muttering and leafing through a stack of papers written in a messy scrawl, the goblin looked much like a secretary. Which he essentially was.

"Jory," Jareth said in way of greeting.

The goblin put a finger on a line writing to hold his place, and looked up, quite unimpressed. "Yes, Majesty?" he asked in a bored tone.

"I was just checking to make sure that nothing had burned down, or that no mass murders had occurred," Jareth said with an arched brow.

Jory stared at him blankly.

"It was a joke, Jory." The goblin didn't answer. "Nothing did burn down, did it?"

"No, all settlements are intact, Majesty." If that was a note of humour in the goblin's voice, no one would ever be able to tell.

"Anything pressing that I need to know?" Jareth asked, knowing that asking too specific of questions could have him standing there all day.

The goblin pushed his glasses up his nose with one long, clawed finger. "The rock singers in Silver Valley are having a minor skirmish with some of the lesser fae. It seems like something will be easily resolved on its own, but if matter escalate, I shall inform you at once, Majesty."

Jareth nodded his appreciation, and then manifested a crystal to take him back to Sarah's. Once standing in her living room, he thought more about what Jory had told him. Small skirmishes were not uncommon, especially in an area so far from the castle, yet it would be very detrimental if the Rock Singers were forced to leave their home and stopped the mining they did for the crown. If things were not fixed soon, he'd have to go solve it directly.

The trip had at least killed some time, even if it had put an extra worry into his mind. But he still had a few hours until Sarah was due home, and no idea on how to spend it.

A scratching at the back door told him that the dog probably wanted to be let inside. Thinking that it was probably what Sarah would have him do if she were here, he went to the door and opened it. Merlin walked inside, his normal white and grey colours muted to a dull brown as his mud soaked coat dragged filth into the house.

Jareth's eyes widened at the mess the dog made as it walked over to the sofa and hauled himself upon it. Brown paw prints made a clear trail from the door and up onto the loveseat.

"And you sleep with her?" he asked in frustration.

He walked over to the couch, when a note on the coffee table grabbed his attention. Scanning it briefly, he frowned about the part about not letting the dog into the house. The end was quite right in that there was magic that could bring her dog back to his pristine colours and to save her floor and furniture, but Jareth had never made much of a point to learn any sort of domestic magic. That was servants' work.

His eyes slid over to the dog, who seemed to know he had done something wrong. Merlin's ears were down low, and he shrunk into the couch.

Jareth went back to the door and flung it open. Pointing to the back yard, he yelled, "Out!"

Merlin hastened to obey, going as fast as his old legs would carry him. Jareth slammed the door behind him. He stared at the mess that had been left.

Grumbling under his breath, he got to work in cleaning up the mess before it dried onto the couch.

He should have stolen her dog all those years ago, rather than her brother.

…

Jareth, after a long and laborious battle with attempting to clean up after Sarah's mutt (and mostly succeeding), now stood in front of Jefferson Elementary School. Children ran about everywhere, most of them heading towards vehicles that had their waiting parents in them. Several of them were playing on the jungle gym; a select few were leaping from the swings at the pinnacle of their arcs.

He hesitated before travelling up the curved cement walkway, and pushing the door open into the building. The first thing he noticed was that every thing seemed to be so _little_. From door handles to drinking fountains, everything looked to be adjusted for people of shorter stature. The stark white walls were plastered with colourful artwork and banners of encouragement, and the waxed floors had a high shine on them from the bright fluorescent lights.

The hallway had several doors in it, and it also branched off into another wing about halfway along. He had no idea where Sarah was.

A little girl in a purple dress and carrying a back pack too large for her came careening around the corner, but instantly stopped running when she noticed the adult standing there. She stared at him in awe for a moment, before shyly looking away when his stare met hers. When she made to pass by him with her head down, he asked her, "Little girl, do you know where Sarah is?"

The girl halted midstep and seemed to think about it. "Sarah isn't in my grade," she answered finally. "She's in grade 2, _I'm_ in grade 3." She added proudly, he noticed she had a gap between her front teeth.

"I think you have the wrong Sarah," he said patiently.

The girl shook her head, offended. "No, Sarah is in second grade!"

Jareth counted backwards from ten. "Sarah is a teacher here. Do you know a teacher named Sarah?"

"There's no Mrs. Sarah's here," the girl said, hiking her backpack up more firmly around her shoulders.

That was right. She was only called by her _last name_ here. As a title of sorts. "Do you know where Miss Williams is?"

The girl nodded brightly, bouncing up in her white trainers that had flowers painted on them. "Miss Williams is in the library!" she announced. "I'll show you!" She then ran about three steps before screeching to a halt.

She turned and him, her hands on her hips, and her eyes squinting in a poor facsimile of a glare. "There's no running in the halls," she informed him sternly, even though he had yet to move. "You'll just have to settle down." Her seriousness vanished when she added with a giggle, "At least, that's what Mr. Johnstone always tells me."

With another grin, she began walking at a deliberately slow pace down the hall. Jareth walked beside her with, smiling faintly at her antics. She reminded him much of the goblin children he cared for, but much less scheming and destructive.

Odd that Sarah should choose a profession so close in nature to his own.

After what should have been a quick trip at a normal pace, but seemed to take ages at their snail's pace, the duo arrived at a set of glass doors. Looking through it revealed empty tables and shelves of books.

"Miss Williams is behind the desk," his guide told him importantly. She leaned in conspiratorially and whispered in a voice louder than her talking one, "She's really nice."

Jareth nodded seriously. "She sure is." He knelt down to look at her on eye level. "I must thank you for doing such a noble deed, Miss…?"

The girl gave him a wide smile, gap between the teeth and all. "I'm not Miss!" she giggled. "I'm Melanie!"

"Ah, well, fair maiden, Melanie. I thank you mostly kindly for your help. You could be knight one day, you know."

She gasped. "Do you think so?"

He nodded. "I'm sure of it. If one day, when you're older and if you're still as kind as you are today, you just need to ask Jareth if you can be a knight. Remember, only do it when you're much older."

Melanie nodded quickly, her messy brown ponytail flailing as she did so.

Jareth smiled at her, and without another word, the little girl had taken off, all thoughts about walking in the halls clearly forgotten.

When Jareth stood up, it was with a faint grin. Turning to enter the library, he stopped dead to realise that Sarah was on the other side of the doors and had witnessed the entire encounter.

"Well, this should be interesting," he muttered, going to enter the library.

……………………………………………

**AN:** So, there is chapter five! I just realised that a whole three new characters were introduced! Hope that didn't shock too many people. Also, is it sad that I've been planning Jareth's encounter with Melanie since I began writing this fic? I'd like to thank all my super wonderful reviewers! The support I've been receiving has been overwhelming, and I'm grateful for all the feedback I get! Plus, bonus points have been awarded to all the people who correctly guessed the song last chapter. Yup, it was Starman. : )

Thanks for reading, all you wonderful people you! (PS: I try really hard to make it a point to respond to all my reviewers, but I can't for the anonymous reviewers! So, here's an extra thank you to all you no names!)


	6. Chapter 6

Jareth smiled at seeing Sarah as he walked towards her. It had been his plan to surprise her at work, to remind her that he was waiting for her, and see if she wouldn't be adverse to doing something a little more entertaining than minding the library.

His smile slipped off his face the closer he drew to her. Standing there with her hands planted firmly on her hips, she was glaring at him like he'd never seen her do before.

"What the hell was that?" she hissed at him angrily.

His own face turned to stone. "I was thanking a child for her assistance."

"And filling her head with nonsense! Now she'll go home and make some stupid asinine wish that she'll spend the rest of her days regretting!" she yelled out, her voice loud in the silent library.

He nodded curtly. "If you believe so, then surely it must be true. I'll leave you to fill their minds with ideas of practicality and to kill off any remaining dreams." He turned on his heel angrily and began to make his way out of the library. Sarah halted him by grasping his arm and yanking him about.

Quickly, he grabbed her hand so that it remained on his arm and he lifted his other hand so that it was poised in the air. He narrowed his eyes icily. "I have struck for less than that, I assure you." He tightened his grip on her hand, until he saw her flinch.

He loosened his grip and Sarah seized the opportunity to yank her hand back. She drew her other hand to her slightly reddened one as if to cradle it for a moment, but then seemed to think better of it, lowering it to her side.

Her eyes were wide and he saw unshed tears standing in them. For a moment, he wanted nothing more than to draw her into his arms, to stroke her hair and let her know that he would never strike her.

Then all he could think about was her statement on how much she regretted ever meeting him.

His mouth set in a determined line, he turned and exited from the library. He walked the halls of the school, his boots loud in the empty corridors. Disgustingly bright pictures crookedly surrounded him; odd looks from teachers greeted him from beyond doorways. He wandered until he found a large push door that led to the outside.

He knew he could just use magic to go wherever he wished, but at the moment he didn't feel like it. He wanted to work through what had happened. Overcast sky hung low overhead, and the cool air swirled and nipped at his loose shirt. He walked past any lingering parents who gaped at the oddly dressed man as he passed.

Jareth ignored them.

The only opinion he cared about right now was Sarah's, and hers was apparently that she wished that she had never met him. That he had made her spend her life in regret because she had been foolish enough to make a wish.

It was not always the same as what happened to Sarah. Sometimes it was a child wishing themselves away from an abusive family. Sometimes it was a grown man in the deepest, darkest straits of his life wishing to have a chance anew. And sometimes it was a little girl who needed a purpose in her life.

Sarah had been a case of a child being taught independence _from_ their dreams. His telling Melanie that she could call on him had been supplying her _with_ a dream.

It was a benefit, of course, that if she eventually decided to accept his call that he would be supplied with one more knight. He never made goblins into knights, as for not many of them had the ingrained loyalty and courage required. Not to say that all goblins were cowardly, but not many would put such attachments into service for the crown.

The goblins were more the backbone of the kingdom. The families, the workers, the adventurers even. A hodgepodge of other creatures made up the rest of his kingdom, and although they were all a part of his domain and had all sworn their allegiance to him, the fact would forever remain that he was first and foremost king of the goblins.

Which didn't explain why he was so upset over the rejection from a _human_.

Because she was his. Because she had been marked by the peach she at once upon a time.

Because she was just _Sarah_.

Beautiful, stubborn, loyal and determined Sarah.

He looked up to see that he was standing in front of her house and he sighed heavily at the sight. Even when just trying to work out his issues, his body would always betray him. Or maybe it was his magic somehow conspiring against him.

He sighed again, and entered the house. He would wait for Sarah to get home, and then they could talk and see if he had truly ruined her life, for he didn't believe that to be the case.

Not that he would leave her alone even if it was.

He entered the house with resign, bypassing the locked door easily, and took his customary seat on the loveseat. The silence stretched and he found himself stewing more than he should be over her words.

Looking around for something to take his mind off a careless sentence, he wandered around. A glance out the kitchen window into the muddy backyard, revealed Sarah's shaggy dog sleeping behind the tree in the back corner of the yard. He toyed with the idea of bringing the mutt in, but then remembered the mess he had been forced to clean up earlier in the day. He ruled out the idea of canine companionship.

He went and perused the bookshelves, and smirked a bit as he pulled out a now familiar red paperback.

…

Sarah sat behind the desk in the library with her head in her hands. It was moments like these she was almost grateful that students didn't often make use of the library after school. It could have been disastrous if one had witnessed her blow up at Jareth.

Which he had damn right deserved. Trying to lure children to come and become goblins. Giving them images of grandeur, when she knew that _knights_ in his realm merely guarded swamps and the like. Given orders to defend a bridge in the most disgusting of all areas.

But Sir Didymus was also one of the most loyal, kind and dedicated beings that she had ever met. Truly if someone were to believe that much in their cause it wouldn't be a bad thing to be stuck doing it. Maybe one day if Melanie decided to become a knight, then she would have the same vigour, spark, and happiness that Sarah's friend possessed. A friend she was lucky to have.

Her head sunk lower when she thought about it.

She had pretty much told Jareth that she regretted ever entering the Labyrinth. That she wished that she had never met him, or any of her other friends.

Which wasn't true. She valued her time in the Labyrinth. It had moulded her into who she was today. Had helped ground her, had given her the adventure she craved so that she could live out her life as normally as possible.

That didn't mean he should go around and tempt children to leave their lives behind.

She idly rubbed at her sore hand and glanced at the clock.

Another half an hour and then she was free to find out if she would ever see Jareth again. The clock ticked loudly into the silence.

It was going to be a long half an hour.

…

Jareth was sitting on Sarah's loveseat, one foot laying on the coffee table, when she returned. He was reading, and she could now easily recognize the novel to be _The Labyrinth_. She wondered if he had ever actually read it before.

As she drew nearer, he set the paperback down and turned to face her. Even though she was standing, Sarah suddenly felt very small. Which she shouldn't. _He_ was the one in the wrong. Well, mostly.

Taking a fortifying deep breath Sarah rushed out her words, "I'm sorry." Jareth's expression didn't soften at her apology, so she continued, "I… I didn't mean to make it sound like visiting the Labyrinth ruined my life. It didn't really," she took a step forwards while he remained motionless. She just wanted him to understand. She wanted to take her words back.

It was then that she realised that really, she _shouldn't_ care about she had said. She knew that he time in the Labyrinth had been all for the better. She knew the lessons she had learned.

Which meant that what was bothering her was that she had hurt him with her words.

When had he actually started to matter?

Was it when he had declared himself worthy of proving his love? Or was it his straightforward words that were at odds with his gentle actions last night?

Or before either of those?

She realised that he was waiting for her to continue her explanation. Her eyes hardened slightly. "But that doesn't mean you should be handing out fliers and advertising to little children that they can have access to wonderment and knighthood if they just wish it."

It was the way her chest loosened at the sight of his smirk, _his smirk_, that she knew her earlier thoughts were resoundingly correct. She cared about him.

"Is that what you think I was doing?" he asked, leaning back easily. He was fighting to keep a grin off his face, and was losing terribly. Her apology, her heartfelt apology since he knew she couldn't lie to save her life, had done an amazing job in lightening his mood.

"Wasn't it?" she asked him pointedly.

"What do you even know of knighthood in my kingdom?"

Sarah paused to think about it, but before she answered, Jareth spoke for her, "You only ever met Sir Didymus, correct?"

Sarah nodded, surprised he had known the fox terrier's name.

"Well, surely you had noticed that he was not a goblin."

She nodded again, not quite sure what he meant by that observation.

He sighed, as if explaining something to a rather slow child. "Sarah, _none_ of my knights are goblins. They are all offered to join the service. In the case of Sir Didymus, he was an incredibly loyal pet whose owner had passed. With nowhere to go, he wished himself to my kingdom. There he was granted speech and taught the skills he now possesses.

"I didn't tell that girl that it would be glamorous job, just that she was well suited for it and it was open for her if so ever she decided to take it. Most people don't ever believe enough to make the wish."

"None of your knights are goblins?" Sarah asked, not knowing what else she could ask. Her mind seemed fuzzy with the new information he had given her.

Jareth shook his head. "Not one." At her questioning look, he elaborated, "They feel a much stronger loyalty to themselves rather than to the Crown."

Well, that seemed quite like a rather goblin-ish feature. But still… did it mean he had to bait little girls into taking the job?

"What happens if she wants to go and then changes her mind once she's there?"

Jareth frowned. "I don't know. No one has ever wanted to leave."

Sarah scoffed at him. "Guarding the bog of eternal stench is just such a promising job prospect."

She jumped when Jareth let out a bark of laughter. "Oh, believe me, Sir Didymus got what he deserved on that one."

When he didn't extrapolate Sarah asked, "And he didn't want to leave after being stuck in that awful place, punishment or not?"

Jareth shook his head, a grin on his lips. "He wasn't scheduled to stay there for the rest of his days, and he knew his punishment was well earned. He rather got back at me by helping to guide you through my Labyrinth, I think."

Curiosity was killing her now. "What did he do that you made him guard the bog?"

He smiled wickedly. "That's something you may have to ask him."

At that thought, Sarah felt guilt wash over her. It had been so long since she had called on her friends. Her emotions must have shown very plainly on her face, because Jareth said quietly, "They haven't forgotten you, you know."

Sarah looked at him sharply. "How do you know?"

He shrugged. "They always talk about you. Sir Didymus, Hedgewart, that rock singer."

She smiled at him. "You talk to them?"

"Not often. I mostly speak with Didy— Sir Didymus."

Sarah went around the coffee table to sit next to Jareth. It seemed as if their confrontation had ended. She gave him a sidelong glance. "And has he gotten anymore bog duty?"

Jareth winked at her. "I'll never tell."

She laughed, and with a move so natural it startled even her, she leaned into his side. She figured little touching wouldn't be bad so long as he didn't try to take advantage of it.

He seemed to understand her train of thought, because he didn't make any other move other than to drape his arm around her shoulders.

They sat in silence for a few moments, Sarah being lulled into relaxation by the sound of his steady beating heart. Jareth just content to have her with him.

The quiet was broken when she asked him, "Why is there mud on the couch?"

He cringed a bit, and she leaned back to look up at him.

"Err, I may not have noticed a certain note, and may have let that mop you call a dog inside the house."

She looked around. "And he only got mud on the couch?" she asked, incredulous.

"Well, no. I may have cleaned up most of it."

She stared at him in shock. "You cleaned up after my dog?"

"It was really more cleaning up after myself," he said defensively.

She smiled and leaned in to hug him, before bouncing up off the couch. "Speaking of Merlin, I think I need to feed the beast."

She walked over to the backdoor and swung it open. "Merlin!" she called to the dog sleeping by the tree, which was odd as for he normally slept right by the door if he was outside.

He didn't stir.

"Deaf as a post," she muttered before calling out again louder.

After a couple more tries, she felt panic begin to settle in her chest. She told herself she was being irrational. He was fine. Just sleeping and has bad hearing. That's all.

She shoved on her shoes, and stepped out into the back, Jareth was watching intently having picked up on her anxiety.

Walking quickly across the land, mud squishing onto her shoes on the more bald patches of lawn, she neared the tree where Merlin was sleeping.

He didn't jump up as he normally did as she approached. He just kept sleeping.

When she was right next to him, she crouched down and went to give him a shake to wake him.

Her breath came out in a strangle sob when her hand came into contact with the hard, cold body.

"No," she whispered, horrified. "Merlin, no."

She shook the cold dog again, and he didn't move.

His tail didn't wag as he woke.

His ears didn't perk up at seeing his owner.

His chest didn't rise and fall with his breaths.

She fell from her crouch on to her knees, the mud next to her dog coating her skirt. She stroked his long grey fur with a shaking hand. She crooned out his name softly, even while she struggled to breath through her grief. She just sat there petting him, until she registered a long shadow, barely showing from the overcast sky.

Jareth didn't say anything as she sat there stroking her lost pet. He didn't say anything when she stood and stared in quiet anguish. He didn't say anything when she turned and buried her face in his chest and sobbed.

And still in silence, he gently wrapped his arms around her and felt a deep pain with her.

He barely knew that dog. He had threatened that dog. He had even been jealous of it at moments.

But here he was, his heart aching because of its still form. He had no reason to care the thing was dead. No reason at all.

Except it tore at him to see Sarah with such a broken heart.

It was then that it occurred to him: maybe that was what love is.

~*~

**AN:** Yes, that was possibly the saddest thing I've ever written. I mean… Merlin… Frick, I'M crying. I'm such a damn dog person. D:

I really hope no one decides to flame me over this, because I've honestly had this part planned since I began writing the fic. Tell me whatcha think! And may Merlin Rest In Peace.


	7. Chapter 7

Sarah felt empty, tired, and cried out. Her eyes were burning from crying, and though she shivered slightly, it wasn't because she was cold.

Warm arms were wrapped around her, a large hand stroking through her hair, as Jareth held her in silence. They rocked together slightly as they sat on her bed where he had escorted her to at some point in her grief.

She closed her eyes in exhaustion and relaxed into the arms that held her. "Thank you," she whispered.

His arms tightened around her slightly in response.

"He was so old, and his arthritis was just getting so bad even with all the pills… I guess I should have expected it."

He didn't respond, and she had nothing else to say, so she settled for concentrating on feeling his warmth soaking into her, of the comfort of his arms holding her.

It was then reality came back to her. She had to find out where to take Merlin… whether for burial or for cremation. She still had to go into work tomorrow, or else prepare for a substitute. She would need to tell Toby about what happened. He would be devastated.

Heaving a sigh, Sarah gently extricated herself from Jareth. His mismatched eyes stared at her and she found herself, for once, not finding it odd that he was… here. It seemed normal that he was here with her when she needed him, it seemed right that he would hold her while she cried, and it seemed like her challenge to him had been ages ago.

She gave a rueful grin. "I don't think we've listened to the 'no touching' rule very well."

"Was it unwelcome?" he asked in a flat voice, one Sarah had gathered meant he was hiding affront at her own words or actions.

She shook her head. "I thought you knew I did that because your touches were just a little _too_ welcome. I needed to be able to make a choice without my libido deciding for me."

His eyebrows rose slightly, perhaps at her revelation or perhaps at her terminology.

"Where are you going?" he asked as she made to leave the room.

She paused at the door. "I need to call Toby… and then figure out what to do with… do about Merlin." Her eyes welled up briefly again

He nodded and stood up, brushing the wrinkles out of his white shirt. "I need to go talk to Jory about something."

She stared at him. "Who is Jory?"

Jareth waved a dismissive hand. "Help. He does a lot of the work I don't have the inclination or time for."

She nodded, not really comprehending what he said, and left the room. Once outside, she began to ponder what responsibilities Jareth's title brought about. She couldn't see luncheons and meetings with the public frequently gracing his agenda, but keeping his kingdom standing had to require _some_ work.

Trying to extrapolate on what that work might be, Sarah ground to halt. She wouldn't know until she asked him.

She looked out the kitchen window to her back yard and felt her chest tighten. She was stalling and she knew it.

… … …

Jareth frowned at the door when Sarah left. He wanted to stay longer, but had no idea on how to further comfort Sarah. Disliking the feeling of being useless, he had decided on the spot to go and talk to Jory about the situation with the Rock Singers. It had been something weighing on his mind since it was mentioned, anyway.

Summoning a crystal he smashed it without any hesitation, and brought himself directly to his office. Looking around the towering stacks of paper that sat on the empty desk, Jareth narrowed his eyes. Jory wasn't there.

With a barely suppressed growl of frustration, he stomped out of the office and made his way down to the throne room, where chaos was reigning as per usual.

As always, his appearance caused a wave of excitement to go through the goblin children and they crowded their way around him, oblivious to his steadily declining mood.

He looked at the mass of jumping and squealing goblins. "Where is Jory?" he managed to yell over the noise they were creating.

The answers he received were many and varied, although the general consensus was that Jory was in the Paper Room. Which Jareth knew he wasn't.

Smashing a crystal while trying not to break it on a goblin child's face was difficult while they crowded around him but he managed it, transporting himself to his private rooms.

He briefly considered if missing and hitting one of the goblins would have been a bad thing.

His rooms offered no ideas as to where Jory may have gotten to. It was unlike the goblin to leave without at least informing one of the older goblins in the throne room. Sitting heavily on his bed he rested his head in his hand with a steadily deepening frown.

It probably wasn't a big deal. Maybe Jory was out… taking a holiday. Jareth snorted. That goblin hadn't been anywhere but the castle in decades.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Jareth stood and paced in a small circle. Something important enough must have had to bring Jory away from the office without his informing anyone.

Realisation hit him and Jareth grimaced as he summoned a crystal. There was issues with the Rock Callers.

Hoping to control whatever damage had been done, Jareth smashed his crystal.

…...

**AN:** I know, I know! This chapter was a long time coming! I can explain, honestly I can! First off, I was getting what I have written beta'd. Unfortunately, I only got so far as the first chapter done before the excellent beta reader I had acquired needed to focus on other projects. After that, I spent time looking for another, and then I belatedly realised that I needed to _write_ another chapter or else this story would be improved, but without ever getting closer to its ending. So, I tried my hardest to get this one down, and I even tried to make it longer than what it turned out to be (I refuse to apologise for that part. It was a hard chapter to write, short or not). Also, to add to this, I've had precious little time to write. I'm getting ready to move, and packing has taken up a lot of the time I have when I'm not at work. Sorry for the wait, guys.

-BakaPyros


	8. Chapter 8

Sarah felt her heart break all over again as she embraced her little brother. Toby had wanted to come over as soon as she had told him the news, and there had been no way to stop him. As soon as he entered the house, he had rushed to the kitchen window to look out into the backyard and had let out an anguished cry before flinging open the back door.

She had expected him to rush over to his friend's body, but he had just stood there and stared, his chest heaving. His face was red, and he sniffed loudly, dragging his sleeve across his nose. Without looking at sister, he asked in a quivering voice, "Do you think it hurt?"

It was then that she couldn't resist hugging him. She hurt, but right now it was seeing Toby's tears and fear that made her try and push her own pain aside. He didn't hug her back, but did rest his head against her as he began to sob in earnest.

"He was very old, Tobes, and I think that this was a relief from the pain he was already in," she whispered as she stroked his blonde hair.

Toby choked out something completely unintelligible between his sobs before clinging to her and continuing to cry.

Her chest unbelievably tight, she felt more helpless than she had ever felt before. She should have called the vet to pick up Merlin's bod- to pick up Merlin, before telling Toby about the tragedy. Then he wouldn't have had to face the reality of the very dead dog in the backyard.

Looking up from the crying boy clutching at her, Sarah saw her step-mother hovering rather awkwardly by the front door. When their eyes met, Sarah saw a deep compassion in them that she was sure had never been directed at her before.

Toby sobbed a little louder and Irene's look of compassion deepened.

Oh, not for her then.

Still, it was almost nice to see something beyond the austere face her step-mother normally wore in Sarah's house. Although they had never grown close, and Irene disapproved of Sarah's lifestyle, they had come to a sort of peace over the last few years. Partly because Sarah had grown up, and partly because Irene had realized she would never be able to truly replace Sarah's mother and had given up trying.

It didn't take long until she felt her little brother loosen his grip and sag against her, and Sarah, having been the same way an hour earlier, knew how empty and tired he felt. She ran her fingers through his hair for a few moments, until his breathing evened out and he stopped hiccupping.

Without a word, she bent down and picked him up; carrying him to her room. He rested a sleepy head against her shoulder, and she heard him whisper, "I wish he didn't have to die."

The fateful words 'I wish', as always, made her gut twist, but Sarah simply whispered back, "Me too." Toby didn't answer; he had fallen asleep.

She laid him down in her bed and pulled the rumpled covers over him. His face was puffy and blotchy, and dribbles of snot had started to leak their way down out of his nose. With a sigh, Sarah grabbed a Kleenex off her desk and wiped his face for him. He didn't wake up when she did so.

Not wanting to keep Irene waiting, but also not wanting to endure an awkward conversation where Irene would try and fail to make heartfelt comments of sympathy while Sarah would try and fail at not looking horribly crushed.

Looking up and around the room in shock, Sarah realized that something was missing. Where the hell had Jareth gotten to? She glanced around, half expecting to see bits of bushy white hair poking up from the other side of the bed or something.

Seeing nothing, she shook her head. There was enough to worry about at the moment without adding his whereabouts to the list. If he was out getting into trouble she would deal with it later.

Heading back into the living room, she saw that Irene had picked up her old and battered copy of _The Labyrinth _and was flipping through the pages with a rather wistful look on her face. Sarah waited a moment for Irene to notice her entrance, but her step-mother simply continued looking through the book.

Sarah cleared her throat and Irene quickly put the book down on the table. "How is he?" she asked while patting at her hair.

"Asleep." Sarah took a seat on the couch and motioned for Irene to do the same.

A brief frown flitted across the older lady's face. "I don't think I've ever seen him that upset. He's one of the happiest boys I've ever seen. And I'm not just saying that because he's my son."

Sarah ran a tired hand down her face. "Well, he grew up with Merlin, I guess. It's hard… losing someone you love." The loss of Sarah's mother floated in between them briefly, but the implied reference didn't have the same pain it used to hold.

"If you should need-" Irene cleared her throat and continued, "Well, you know you can talk to me, right? I know, _I know_ that I'm not your mother," she emphasised holding a hand up to forestall any objections, "but I do want you to be happy. You realize that, don't you?"

Sarah sat trying to disassemble what her step-mother had just said. Yes, she recognized that on some level, Irene wanted her to be happy. But when she had knelt in the mud and her heart had been breaking, the first person she had gone to was Jareth. Not just because he was there at that very moment, but because, part of her knew, that he always would be there when she needed him.

Her shock at her realization must have shown on her face, because Irene smiled ruefully. "Was I always that distant?"

Blinking, Sarah shook her head. "Oh- what? No, no… I think most of our problems came from me." She waved a hand in a circle. "Yay for adolescence."

Irene smiled, seemingly happy the matter was put to an end. Sarah managed to try and smile back, but she still felt the dead weight within her chest.

A silence fell heavily between the two until Sarah decided to attempt to break it. "I think I need to call the vet to see if they can pick up Merlin," she stated as matter-of-factly as she could. "If you'd like, I can walk Toby home when he wakes up."

"Would you? That would be so helpful." Without waiting any longer, Irene got up and brushed any wrinkles out of her trousers that may have appeared. Her glance strayed once again to the book on the table, and Sarah couldn't keep the curiosity off her face when their gazes met again.

"Oh…" Irene smiled somewhat sheepishly. "It's funny that you should have that novel lying about... I never realized that you had taken it. It used to be mine, you know."

Sarah stared at her, dumbfounded. "No it wasn't," she contradicted her. "It was my mother's. All the fantasy novels in the house had been mom's."

Irene shook her head. "Most of them were. I'm afraid that in my younger days I had read one or two of those things. I liked the whimsy of it all, I suppose." She let out a small laugh. "I guess you think me pretty hypocritical now, don't you?"

In a word: yes. Yes, she did. Irene had constantly chastised Sarah for her love of all things fantastical, even beyond when Sarah had matured past her childish lifestyle and had only retained a joy for fantasy novels.

When she failed to respond, Irene just laughed again. "Will you call us before you head over with Toby?" she asked, buttoning up her jacket.

"Err, yes. I'll make sure to call," Sarah affirmed.

Without any further conversation, Irene let herself out the front door. Sarah could hear the sound of high heels clicking down the cement walk way, and then the sound of a vehicle starting and driving away.

Having not even gotten up for her step-mother's departure, Sarah slumped further into the sofa. It was already starting to get late; she would have to leave a message for the vet. Plus, she still had to go into work tomorrow. Plus, she still had no idea where Jareth had gotten to.

At the last thought, she wrapped her arms around herself. It had been so long since she had been able to break down and cry on someone. She had no friends she could lean on, and her father had never been the type to deal with crying well. There wasn't anyway she would ever break down in front of Irene, and she would never put her problems on Toby.

Yet with Jareth… well, it had been so cathartic to just cry it out and then feel that some still _had_ her. That even if she was lost, however temporarily in sadness, that when she came back to earth that someone would be there for her.

Her eyes burned, but no tears welled up.

It hurt to think it, yet it just seemed to fit the moment so right.

She needed Jareth.

…...

**A/N:** Wow. It's been quite a while since I've updated. May I plead that since the last chapter went up that I have, honest to betsy, moved not once, not twice, but THREE TIMES? For reals. Nothing like an eviction notice, and then getting into the first available place I can find, realizing the rent is killing me, and then moving into somewhere closer to school and is cheaper. And by closer, I mean residence.

The next chapter is going to showcase more of all of our favourite Goblin King, so no worries! Although, I cannot promise when the next chapter will be finished, I will try and get it written in between the demands of life. I won't forget about this story! It's all planned out.

Reviews are love!

-BakaPyros


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: **I feel like every authour's note that I write is me apologizing! Once again, I am so sorry for the immense wait! And do I mean immense! Readers deserve more, and I really have no excuse for the long wait. I hope some people still want to read what happens to Jareth and Sarah, and so here is a shorter chapter to tide you over as I try and pump out chapter ten as quickly as possible. Love to you all!

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

His arrival in the midst of the quarry went largely unnoticed. The sudden appearance of the King made no impact upon the infuriated Rock Callers who were bellowing at near ear shattering levels. Cringing from the sheer volume around him, Jareth attempted to take stock of the situation.

Rock Callers surrounded him. No matter where he looked the giant creatures were furiously yelling, calling rocks towards themselves simply to smash them against the earth in pure rage. Yet they were all at the bottom of the valley, a very unusual thing as for they were normally a much more spread out race, covering the entirety of the Silver Valley area.

His observations were cut short when he heard a rumbling come from behind him. Whirling around, Jareth saw a massive boulder begin to thunderously roll towards him. He leapt out of the way just in time to watch the chunk of rock sail past him towards a group of goblins clustered at the top of the far hill of the valley. He scowled in annoyance as he watched the events unfold.

The huge, hulking goblins saw the projectile coming their way and opened their gaping mouths in roars that were lost in the commotion of the Rock Callers screaming. They scattered just enough that the rock missed them, and Jareth narrowed his eyes at them. This valley was host to mines owned by the Crown and run by the Rock Callers. No goblins would jeopardize the mining process.

That thought was dashed when one of the goblins on the hill top raised a huge club and began to charge down the hill, the rest of the group following it. Rocks sailed up and crashed around the small party, and Jareth began to be assured of a quick end to a short conflict. These goblins were poorly organized and obviously lacked the intelligence to plan ahead. He growled in frustration when once again he proved to be wrong, when climbing over the top of the hill and following the first few came what seemed to almost be a small army.

Goblins of varying shape, size, and type came crashing down the hill side. Some were taken down by the rocks that they were being assailed with, but the fallen soldiers were replaced right away by the numbers that continued to stream over the hill top.

"It gets worse, Majesty."

Jareth whipped around to see Jory standing there. The goblin's spectacles were askew and there were several cuts on his body.

Magic began to crackle in blue sparks around the Goblin King. "And _why_," he hissed at his advisor, "are _my _goblins attacking the Crown's mines. _My_ mines?"

Beady yellow eyes widened slightly at the power radiating off of the King before him, but Jory presented no other sign of worry. "Because, my liege, they are not _your_ goblins."

The blue sparks began to crackle more violently. "Explain."

"Not anymore, that is," Jory amended. "It seems that some goblins have taken exception to the Crown running a monopoly on the mines. They wish to risk the fury of the Rock Callers in order to seize some of the wealth for their own."

Jareth's head whipped over to stare at the amassed goblins now in full charge down the valleyside, rushing straight towards the Rock Callers. "Theft," he growled. His eyes narrowed further and he said even lower, in almost a hiss, "Treason."

He could hear Jory continuing to explain how the battle had progressed, small skirmishes, a hurt goblin, another hurt Rock Caller, and then full scale militia being formed to attack the valley, but his mind was already racing to figure out a solution. He closed his eyes, and for one brief moment wished he could be back in the quiet of Sarah's tiny house, and then a crystal ball appeared in his hand.

Drawing in a deep breath, Jareth threw the ball down the hill where it smashed onto a rock. He let out a yell that quickly escalated into a full out scream, and suddenly everything was still. The Rock Callers stopped mid-bellow, and the goblins stay in place mere seconds away from colliding with their hairier opponents. He slumped down next to his advisor who was looking at him with both pride and fear.

"Majesty, are you alright?" Jory stooped down to check on the panting Goblin King.

The energy had drained from him the instant the crystal had smashed, and Jareth felt his body shake with the effort he had expended. Heaving in great gasps of air, he waved a shaking hand to try and put Jory at ease, but he could tell his lack of a real answer only alarmed him further. Trying to calm his breathing, Jareth pushed himself into a standing position and took another look at the now immobile battlefield. Now what?

His question must have shown on his face, because Jory adjusted his spectacles and peered at the field more closely as well. "Perhaps we unfreeze select portions of the Rock Callers, explain to them that we are going to control the situation and have them temporarily vacate the valley? There's enough room at the castle, I'm sure."

"Right. And then what do we do about the hostile goblins? They need to be punished. There is no lack of standards in goblin communities that could incite such a display of pure greed." He was sneering, and he knew it, but he was hard pressed to care while staring down at the pack of thieves.

"The Bog of Eternal Stench? It is possible that Sir Didymus is done with his position, _ahem,_ 'guarding' it and may be grateful for a reprieve."

Jareth considered it for a moment. "No, he abandoned his duty and isn't going to be let off easy, no matter how much you petition for him, Jory." He glared at his assistant, who merely shrugged. "Besides, the bog is not so severe a punishment. Didymus will be released by the end of the year, as was ruled, and these goblins deserve worse for their little… raid."

"With all due respect, Majesty, have you considered that extreme punishment may make the matter worse? Will these subjects learn their lesson or will they harbor a resentment that will be returned with them upon their own release? Or is your intended punishment to be permanent?"

His head was pounding now, and he stared down at the valley in frustration. What the hell was he supposed to do? Get rid of them? Banish them? Kill them? He put a hand up to his head, subconsciously trying to quell the pain there.

"Majesty?"

Jareth didn't answer. He needed to sit. To calm down. His mind flashed back to how it felt to hold Sarah in his arms while she grieved, and he suddenly yearned for the same kind of comfort.

His leather gloves creaked as he balled his hands into fists. He had made up his mind. "Obviously there is unrest in the goblin towns for citizens to resort to such measures. We'll evacuate the Rock Callers, as you suggest, and then, while the aggressors remain frozen, we can go investigate the causes of this unrest further. We can decide what do with them after we get more information."

Jory nodded and with that consent Jareth took another deep breath, threw a crystal and disappeared.

x-x-x-x-x

If Jory was surprised at the unusual mercy of his King, he didn't let it show as he began slowly making his way down the valleyside down to where the Rock Callers had defended their valley. It was unusual for Jareth to want to find out facts before making a ruling; he rarely took the time to hear all sides of a story before he wanted the problem out of his face. In fact, it had been a very long time that Jareth had shown more interest of ruling his lands than just shoving it all into Jory's own lap.

He wondered if perhaps the King's visit to above ground had been having an effect. There was always the possibility that the one day the King would want more responsibility, and this trip and this new personality change did seem to coincide with one another quite neatly.

What was the name of the girl again? The one who had run the Labyrinth for the young goblin war game all those years back? Sasha?

He adjusted his askew glasses as he continued his way down the valley. No. It was Sally. That was it.

The Rock Callers remained motionless and Jory wondered how long they would stay that way. The effort had visibly taxed his Majesty, and Jory was hard pressed to remember the last time he had seen Jareth use that much magic. Maybe it was Sally having an effect on him.

He let out a snort. The King was childish, petty, and often only wanted to play with toys that others had. It was bound to be all over once he bedded the girl, and then perhaps his Majesty would be willing to actually rule over the kingdom that he pretended to hold in an iron fist.

Jory stood at the bottom of the valley, next to the rushing waters of the Silver River, and let out a sigh. It all seemed like such wishful thinking, but the actions today showed some small promise.

Maybe having a queen would be a good thing. Queen Sally.

Jory smiled.

He liked the sound of that.


	10. Chapter 10

Chpter 10

Sarah's eyes still burned, but she couldn't find any tears. She was an adult; she could deal with the death of a pet. Still, the idea that now she was truly alone in her tiny little house had hit almost as hard as the lost of her beloved companion. Almost.

She wondered for what felt like the one hundredth time where Jareth had gotten too. Shivering, she curled up into a ball on the loveseat and rested her head against the armrest. It was too much to ask for Jareth to be there when she really needed him. But that wasn't really fair to think, she knew. He had comforted her when she found out, after all. But where was he now?

Her body ached from her uncomfortable position on the loveseat. Had Jareth really slept on this? No wonder he had moved into her bedroom the other night.

She scrunched her face up in frustration. Why was she still thinking about Jareth? It was Merlin she missed. Merlin and his big, dumb, happy face. His happy, gone face. Except it wasn't really gone. It was in the backyard waiting for her to deal with it.

What was she to do? She wasn't even one hundred percent sure if it was legal to bury him in the backyard, or if the vet would pick him up for cremation or what she was even supposed to begin with. Conversations about people who had lost beloved pets didn't usually include a 'so what did you do with the body?' Her head pounded dully.

Despite her wanting to, she found herself thinking of Jareth again. The day spent in her room should have been used to come up with some sense of clarity about him, but Sarah felt some shame that she had wasted it hiding and trying not to think about him.

Wait? Since when did doing her _job_ become a waste of time? Not that that question was hard to answer. She felt her face burn as she recalled the liberties she had let him take only a couple of days ago in her bathroom. Why hadn't she at least told him off? Or punched him? Not that she had really even enforced their 'no touching' rule they had set up. Her face went even hotter at the thought.

And then there was him traipsing through the school looking like nothing short of a complete nut, and then telling kids they could wish themselves to his kingdom!

She wanted to be mad. She couldn't take the thought that this man, who had done so much bad, was the one that she needed. He wasn't the man for her. He wasn't even a man. She sat up on the couch and stared stonily at the paperback on the coffee table. She couldn't just _give in_. Leave her life behind. Just go the Underground. Toby would miss her, and the school year had just started, she couldn't just leave now. It scared her to know that those were the only two things holding her back.

Sighing, she looked over towards the backyard again, and let out a shocked yelp. Jareth was leaning heavily on the kitchen counter, staring at her.

"How long have you been there?" She demanded, feeling embarrassed but not knowing why.

"I just showed up," he replied.

There was a bit of a pause as neither quite knew what to say. Sarah felt increasingly self conscious over her mussed up hair and blotchy face as the two continued to stare at one another.

"Sarah?" Toby stood in the hallway rubbing his eyes. She could see pillow lines on his face still.

Sarah shot a look towards Jareth, not sure what to do. Looking back over at Toby she tried her best to give a smile. "Hey, Tobes. Feeling any better?"

"Not really," Toby admitted quietly, walking over to the couch and climbing up beside her. He had an eye on Jareth but had yet to say anything about him. Sarah didn't know if she should introduce them or if she should just take Toby and go. She glanced at Jareth to see he had an odd expression on his face, but she couldn't place it.

She sighed. "Toby, this is my friend Jareth."

Toby gave him a look, taking in the Goblin King's blue sparkly jacket, tights, and poofy white hair. "Hello," he replied a bit hesitantly.

Jareth put on a smile, and Sarah felt herself tense, not sure what to expect. "Hello, Toby. You've grown quite a bit since I last saw you."

Sarah glared at him. What was he doing?

But it seemed to relax Toby to know that he had already met this strange man, even if he couldn't remember it. "You know me?"

"We've met briefly, when you were no more than a baby. I helped Sarah babysit you for a day once when she was rather busy."

Toby nodded and didn't press the point, but he looked at Sarah for confirmation. She nodded at him with a small smile.

"Yep," she agreed while glaring at Jareth, "but he did a fairly poor job, so I didn't ask for his help again."

Jareth let out a small laugh. "No, she didn't."

Toby smiled too, but looked a little confused. "Why were you bad? You look like it would have been fun."

"Well, there's not much fun to be had when you're just a baby. I bet now that you like all sorts of things that you couldn't have done then. What do you like?"

Sarah wanted to relax, the conversation seemed it was going so well. But she couldn't. What if Jareth took Toby again? Made her run the labyrinth or even just used him as a bargaining chip to get her to stay in the Underground? But no, Jareth was past that.

Toby was chatting happily about the peewee soccer team he played on and some of the computer games that his parents had let him play. Sarah observed in conflicted silence as Toby told Jareth all about himself. She remembered his words back by the magical pond about he was still cruel. Was that meant to be a warning?

"I think we should go," she interrupted suddenly, earning a confused look from Toby and one she couldn't read from Jareth. "I mean, your mom will want you home soon, Tobes."

Toby looked outside one last time. He leaned in to whisper to Sarah, so that the new man wouldn't hear, "Please tell Merlin one last goodbye for me, okay?" His voice didn't waver, but it sounded so small and so young that Sarah shut her eyes tight.

And even though she thought she had no more tears left, Sarah felt her eyes well up once more. "Promise."

She slid her shoes on while Toby put his jacket on.

"Bye, Jareth," Toby muttered with his head down.

"Goodbye, Toby. You are very brave."

Toby looked up in shock. "What? Why?"

Where was this going? He had better not offer Toby any knighthood or Sarah wouldn't be responsible for what she did to Jareth.

"Because you lost a friend. And that is a pain that not most can handle. You're brave for handling life this well." He winked, "and for taking such good care of your sister, too."

Toby smiled. "You have too!" he exclaimed, and Sarah looked at him in shock. "Mom and Dad say that if I don't visit her that she'll just stay in this tiny house forever and do nothing but read and mark spelling tests!" Toby saw Sarah's thunderous look and grinned at her, the epitome of a little brother. "But now you have a friend, Sarah!" Sarah glared at him.

"Come on, let's go." She opened the door and shoved Toby outside. Looking back at Jareth she noticed he was still leaning against the kitchen counter. He hadn't moved the whole time he had been there.

She shook her head and focused instead on trying to keep Toby happy for the walk back to their parent's house.

"Did you like Jareth?" she asked, not quite sure why it mattered.

"I guess so," Toby answered. "Why is his hair so weird?"

Sarah laughed. "Because that's just how he is. He's... different."

Toby nodded. "I can tell," he said seriously.

Sarah laughed again. "You have a sharp eye."

"Is he your boyfriend?" Toby asked, seeming a bit too innocent with that question.

Sarah felt her cheeks burn. "No. No, he isn't. Why would you even think that? I told you he was just my friend."

Toby shrugged. "You don't have any other friends. Mom was wondering when you'd ever get a boyfriend."

Had she really? How embarrassing. She narrowed her eyes. And slightly infuriating. Since when did Irene talk about Sarah's lack of love life with her little boy?

"Well, he is _not_ my boyfriend."

"Oh. Okay." Toby walked in silence for a bit. "Why was he there?"

"I don't know." Sarah snapped, but felt bad at the wounded look Toby gave her. "I don't know," she repeated more softly, trying to smile a little. "He does what he wants, I guess."

"Oh." Toby repeated. "Maybe _he _wants to be your boyfriend?"

She decided to ignore the hopeful tone in his voice. "Definitely not." She said firmly, trying to put an end to that train of thought, but not wanting him to return to thoughts about Merlin. She just didn't know what else to say to him.

It was going to be a long walk.

She got him talking about soccer and about school but they didn't last long until they both walked in silence.

Walking up to her old house, Sarah was reminded that this was Merlin's first home as much as it was hers, and it hurt her even more to see it. Toby said bye and she turned to leave, not wanting to see her father or stepmother. She started jogging, not caring about her lack of running shoes or clothes. She just wanted to get back.

When she reached the house and opened the gate, she wondered if Jareth would be upset about her leaving when she did. She hadn't really been very nice about taking off so abruptly. But then again, he had ditched without saying goodbye earlier.

She walked inside, but Jareth wasn't in the living room or kitchen. He was either in her room or he had left again. She looked outside in the backyard just in case, and yelled when she saw Merlin's body was gone. What had Jareth done? She ran outside, already wet shoes slipping in the mud, and looked around for any clues about where he could have gone. There weren't any.

What was going on? Why would Jareth move Merlin's body like that? Why didn't he even ask?

She headed back into the house, kicked her shoes off, and went to her bedroom. Jareth was laying in her bed. His eyes were closed, but his body was twitching violently and his chest was heaving deep breaths.

"Jareth? Jareth! Are you okay?" She crossed the room and grabbed his arm when he didn't reply. "Jareth!" His eyes opened and he glared at her.

"What?" he ground out.

She didn't know what to say. Again, she felt herself floundering out of her depths in front of the Goblin King. Was he okay? What happened? Where was Merlin?

"I took Toby home." That wasn't what she meant to say at all, and Jareth seemed to know it. He closed his eyes and ignored her.

"Are you... are you okay?" she asked tentatively.

He took a couple of deep breaths and groaned. "I'll be fine. I need rest. Too much, I just did too much."

Too much of what? Moving Merlin? Or had it been when he was gone?

"Come here."

She was already right next to the bed, but she knew what he meant. She studied him for a moment. His face was drawn and lined with pain and fatigue. Sweat was shining on his forehead and his eyes were screwed shut in pain. "Can I get you anything?" she asked instead of moving. "Painkillers or tea or something?"

"Come here," he said again, glaring at her.

She wanted to lie down with him, to hold him until he stopped shaking, but part of her was telling her not to. She wasn't supposed to be giving in this easy! But he was hurt and so was she, and she just wanted his comfort as much as he wanted hers.

"I can't," she whispered.

With a frustrated growl, he reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her down to the bed. She sat, and then lay down beside him.

He wrapped a shaking arm around her, and she hated that she let him, but still found herself relaxing into his embrace. She felt so tired.

Quietly, she said into her pillow, "I'm not going to go back with you."

He twitched in what might have been the shadow of a laugh.

His voice was hoarse as he whispered, "You seem to do whatever you want."

She didn't know how he knew what she had said to Toby or even if it was just pure coincidence, but the remark settled under her skin. Did she want to go back?

As his arms got heavy with sleep, she decided that she really just didn't know. And that was a very bad thing.

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**AN:** Another update! Thanks for all the new people who gave this story a follow! I hope that some Sarah/Jareth interaction will make you all a little bit happier and I really hope that you tell me what you think! Reviews are always very much appreciated!

Love to you all.


	11. Chapter 11

He woke from a deep ache that was resonating throughout his entire body. He squinted his eyes in the darkness and realized he must have been asleep for a very long time, as it had been the middle of the afternoon when he had laid down.

A feminine sigh whispered out from in front of him, and his eyes shot towards Sarah, her face relaxed in sleep. Something within him panged uncomfortably. She looked so young sleeping. Did that mean that he thought she looked old while awake? She was beautiful and barely an adult, really, but there was something tense and stressful that seemed to follow her everywhere. Maybe it was his presence, but even when he had occasionally spied upon her from the Underground there had always been an air of loneliness and anxiety about her. It bothered him.

What seemed to be more of a bother at the moment, however, was the deep lethargy and pain that overusing his magic had caused. The huge expenditure in the valley had cost him, but his events upon returning to Sarah's world had finished him off. Hopefully the pain would fade soon enough. Even if it did, he still didn't know what he would do about the Rock Callers. Or Sarah.

He shut his eyes and draped an arm over Sarah's warm body. He could leave Jory to sort it all out, as he would have usually done, but this seemed too important for him to be uninvolved in. His pounded as he tried to think, clouding his thoughts. Some of Sarah's hair tickled his face, and he grimaced as it brushed over his oversensitive skin.

What was there for him to do? He had a kingdom to run, but so did she it seemed. Yes it was a much smaller scale, but that she could manage to hide away an entire day doing nothing but work related things seemed to prove that she took her job seriously. Even if it had been done only to avoid him. He wondered what she did at work. He had seen the place, but not the duties, and suddenly wished he could see her interacting with more children the way she had with Toby when he had climbed up beside her on the couch.

A smile stretched his face. He wouldn't have guessed when he had met the young and selfish Sarah that she would go into a profession that so involved children. She had hated Toby taking up her life to the point she had wished him away. Maybe it was her determination to save him that made her into what she was today.

He liked that. He liked thinking that he was the reason she had turned out to be so... well, to be so _Sarah._

His eyes burned from exhaustion, and despite the pain that continued to lance through his body he felt himself falling asleep again. He would figure things out in the morning. For now, he would just enjoy his time in her bed and hope that maybe it would one day be repeated in his.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Light slowly filtered through the thick curtains, and Jareth felt the heaviness in his body start to recede bit by bit as he attempted to fully wake up. He still felt pain but it wasn't as bad as it had been the day before. He lifted a hand and saw he had stopped shaking. That was good. He looked over and saw wide hazel eyes staring at him in what looked to be a guarded curiosity that quickly shifted into a determined stare.

"Where's Merlin?" Her voice was calm, but he could tell that the wrong answer would result in a temper he had probably even yet to see.

"He deserved a resting place that showed what a valued companion he was," he answered cautiously, carefully watching her face. She looked quite a bit better after she had rested, he noticed. Yesterday she had been in shambles and it had hurt to see.

"So you did take him?"

He nodded, not sure what else to say to that.

"What if I had wanted him to stay here?"

He stiffened. "He deserved better." And it was true. He was no stranger to spying and he had seen only one constant throughout Sarah's life and that had been that mutt. She had laughed with it, hugged it, cried to it and he had seen how much she had adored that animal. His heart had warmed and broke and been filled with jealousy, but still Sarah had loved that dog. He may not have been that impressed with it when it had been afraid of thunderstorms or tracked mud all over the house, but he was impressed at how an animal could be the absolute embodiment of someone's affection.

She threw the covers off herself angrily, sitting up in a huff. "You had no right," she hissed angrily.

The inequality of her staring down at him caused him to force himself into a sitting position to look her in the eye. It hurt and he tried not to grimace, but couldn't help at how slow and arduous it was just for him to get halfway out of bed. "I did what he deserved. You can rage at me, but I had thought you would feel at least some measure of gratitude."

"That you stole the body of my pet?" She demanded.

"I stole nothing!" he snapped. He saw her hurt behind the anger in her eyes and felt his own wash away. He could feel himself already giving in, not wanting to see anything else hurt her. "Would you like to see him?" he asked more quietly.

She paused, and he saw her uncertainty. "Where is he?"

"I buried him next to the starpond."

Her eyes widened slightly, but she nodded. He didn't know what she was agreeing with, but he hoped it was that his burial spot had been sufficient.

"I would like to see him." Her voice sounded small and he could hear the hidden apology. He decided it would be better not to address it. He wasn't sure how taking them both into the Underground would go with his body in this state, but he found himself unable to refuse her.

He heaved himself out of bed and shakily stood. He had thought he was feeling better than yesterday, but the trial of standing proved otherwise. His body didn't appreciate the huge amounts of magic expended, and he could feel the ache increase as he manifested another crystal.

Sarah hesitated. "Are you..." she faltered. "Are you okay?" The sincerity and concern of the question only confirmed that she was worth it. He couldn't deny her this. He nodded, not trusting his voice.

She walked over and clasped him tightly in a hug as they had last time they travelled to the starpond under much happier circumstances. He concentrated and felt sweat bead slightly on his forehead as he tried to build up his magic. It wavered and twisted away from his grasp, and he groaned in pain and frustration. Sarah's eyes shot up to him in concern and he attempted a smile. When her concerned look only deepened he knew he had failed.

He pulled the magic from within himself together and twisted it into the crystal that held his intent. "Hold on ," he whispered for both her benefit and his as he threw the crystal.

Right as it smashed he felt his magic spark within him and then fizzle. His whole body twitched and jerked and he fell upon Sarah as brilliant colours and winds rushed past the Goblin King and his intended. No one was there to see how she held up his weight and struggled through the winds on her own.

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**AN:** So, because its finals right away and this was the only window I could find to write a chapter, I present to you this short little thing to tide you over. I want to know if my readers would prefer more frequent short chapters, or if you would prefer to wait and have longer chapters that make for longer waits? Let me know in your reviews! (Remember, Reviews are like crack but better!)


	12. Chapter 12

Last time Sarah had been hurled through these winds she had been able to hide her face against Jareth's chest and to feel his strong arms hold her safe and secure. This time, as the Goblin King lay unconscious and the hot winds ripped passed her in all directions, she had no choice but to struggle to hold herself up while clutching desperately to his slack body. Squinting past the hot air she saw streaks of white, red, and yellow rushing past her, but there was no sense to the hurry and chaos that seemed to fill her head as the wind continued to roar in her ears.

"Jareth!" her voice sounded muffled against the gales pushing her around, but despite her cry and all the noise around them Jareth didn't move.

She grunted and tried to gain a better hold on him, but could only scrabble at his clothes as her hair continued to whip around her face and into her eyes. Her arms ached as she tried to keep him from falling. How long did this take the last time? Were they going even further? She was sure the last time had taken less than a minute, but as seconds dragged on, she became less and less sure how long she had been in this in-between place.

They had to stop at some point. She tried to look past her hair but could make nothing out but the same blurred colours she had seen before. "Jareth!" Her voice cracked from the volume of her scream, but there was no response. She screamed again, and then again, her body failing under the wind's assault and Jareth's weight. She knew she sound hysterical, and must look it too, from the way the hot salty tears had been spread across her face by the wind and her hair.

What could she do? What were the rules in this place between worlds? Her body heaved with a futile sob before she screamed again in frustration, "I wish this would stop!"

Her voice cut unnaturally loud amid abrupt silence, scaring herself from the sudden change. The winds had disappeared, along with the noise and the heat the moment she had cried out. Cool air soothed her wind burned skin and she quickly recognized the small clearing that Jareth had taken her to before. Arms unable to take the strain anymore, she quickly lowered Jareth onto the soft grass. What had made the winds stop? Wasn't it Jareth who had always granted her wishes? How could words like that have power over such a place?

She shook the thoughts aside. She couldn't get answers now, so she would have to focus on the more pressing issue: what had happened to Jareth. There had been something very wrong with him before they left. His shaking before they slept, his slow movements when he woke, the tight expression that she had attributed to merely his reaction to her anger. Looking at him now, as he lay in the grass, she saw his face was even paler than usual and his face remained lined with pain despite his unconsciousness.

This was bad. She didn't even know what was wrong with him, let alone how to fix it. She did remember him muttering about doing too much. Was this merely exhaustion?

She looked him over, noting the dust that covered his usually immaculate clothing. Where had he been before he came back to the house? Above or underground?

"I don't suppose that if I wished you better that would work would it?" she whispered. She reached out a hand to touch him, but stopped before she could rest it against his cheek. No touching. Despite sharing a bed, dragging him here, and now the worry that was clawing its way through her chest, she still felt nervous about letting herself go. She shook her head, and brought her hand back to herself.

What was wrong with her? He wasn't even awake and she was still worrying about some stupid little rule she had made just to make herself feel... feel what? Safe? She never felt in danger when he was around. Sure, she could feel the potential for danger, but there was always the tranquility of knowing he wouldn't hurt her.

So what was it? Her eyes travelled over his body, stretched out in the grass. Usually a sight that would make her blush instead caused her heart to tighten as she thought about the pain he must be in. She couldn't leave him. Not like this.

She was so afraid that she would want to leave everything behind for him.

Tearing her eyes away from the Goblin King, Sarah glanced around the clearing. Seeing the drop off that signaled the Star Pond, she remembered Jareth's words about burying Merlin next to it.

Not wanting to leave Jareth's side, but keeping in mind the whole reason she had asked him to bring her here, she stood and started to make her way to the Pond.

When Jareth had brought her here on, well on a date essentially, it had felt so calm and natural. Now, as she padded across the grass, becoming increasingly aware of the distance between her and the unconscious body laying behind her, the air felt stiflingly quiet. The cool breeze didn't rustle the trees. There were no bugs serenading the night. Just silence. Her ears strained to pick up anything as she glanced around the trees surrounding the clearing. Their huge presence made her think of powerful, ancient guardians, and she smiled at the thought.

She reached the Star Pond, but could find no raised hedgestone or plaque or marker for her beloved pet. Not that she had really expected something of that sort, but she wasn't really sure what Underground customs were for, well, final resting places. She searched the perimeter, looking for a hint for where Merlin could be resting, but found nothing.

What had Jareth done? She shot a look over her shoulder at the still King, but his prone form gave her no hints.

Maybe she had to just _see_ instead of just look. Her head started to hurt again. What was she supposed to see in the first place? She looked into the Pond and felt her breath draw out again as she focused on the dance of giants taking place beneath the still waters.

Streaks of gold sparks shot by wide arrays of jewel-like planets. Blue and white galaxies spun in whirls and circles, and Sarah felt as if she could feel the music from this invisible dance waving through the air around her. The spinning, and crashing, and sharp movements made her feel dizzy as she felt the same hurry and purpose as their journey here. But as soon as she began to feel overwhelmed from the chaos and the enormity of the view, everything slowed down to near stillness. Bright silver sparks popped in and out of the deep blackness that held everything in the wide embrace of eternity. She stared into the empty Pond, feeling herself lean forward, letting the magic pull her face towards the surface.

Then pure contentment filled her. The worry about Jareth that had wound her up so tightly washed away. Her body relaxed as the grief from losing Merlin was taken from her. She could feel it. Could feel the emotions, could feel the strain, could feel all of her tears, flow out of her and her eyes widened to feel them all melt into the pond. To join the water, that was really space, that was really magic, and to leave her feeling whole again.

She felt magic sliding against her skin, just as she had the last time, but this time it wasn't cool and it wasn't new or different. It felt warm, familiar, and tears brimmed in her eyes as she realized it felt just as Merlin had whenever she had hugged him. His shaggy fur tickling her nose. His puffing sighs as he let his boredom show. The warm weight as he leaned into her. The thumping of his slow heartbeat. She could feel him.

"Merlin?" He wasn't really there. This was the magic of the pond. He had died, and she had held his body in her broken grief. She knew he wasn't here.

Then, the blackness of the pond seemed to soften and distantly Sarah could see the figure of a dog sitting. Shaggy, and white, and grey, and she felt love wash over her in a way she knew too well. She felt the loyal devotion of her shaggy dog, and as the magic and familiarity continued to surround her, she found herself smiling.

She didn't know how Jareth had done this. She remembered his comment about the secrets of the Pond being older than himself. But now, as she felt the essence of her lost companion, she knew that he was much stronger than he had ever shown her. That he could bind something from Aboveground to the eternity of space found in this pond, to tie magic and use it to make a memorial unlike any that existed on earth...

Laughter bubbled up in her. Merlin may be gone in the Aboveground, but here, where magic ruled the laws of the universe, she could always feel the heartbeat of one that had been lost to her.

"Goodbye," she smiled into the blackness. She could see the shape of Merlin move sharply as he woofed back at her, but the sound was lost to space.

Tearing her gaze away from the pond, she stood. Lighter. Head higher.

It felt a little ridiculous to know that losing a pet had affected her so deeply, but for those moments he had been gone, she knew that no friends were left to her.

She turned back to return over to Jareth, her thanks and gratitude and warmth ready to transfer over to the King that had done all this.

And felt her blood freeze in her veins as she saw the wide figure looming over his defenceless body.

"Get away from him!" The yell was tore from her as her body had moved before she could even think about it, and she was running across the clearing to get back to Jareth. This large creature looked up at her with red and yellow eyes, its face horrible and inhuman and its teeth jutting up in points best suited to a shark, rather than to something even vaguely humanoid.

She couldn't think about it. This creature, this goblin, was larger than any of the little goblins she had fought on the outskirts of Jareth's castle. Shorter than Ludo, but just as wide, she knew that she wouldn't be able to beat it, as long clawed hands came up in front of it to brace against her, she knew laughable, charge.

She screamed as she got closer, and jumped over Jareth's body, coming between him and the monster, and then slammed into it. It's hands dug into her shoulders, and she felt claws biting into her skin, as they both staggered from the momentum she had brought with her.

Fear and fury filled her as she punched and kicked and scrambled against the goblin that held her.

A deep voice spluttered as she attacked, "Stop, I'm—ouch!—trying to help you foolish—agh!"

The hands that held her shoulders pushed back and Sarah was pushed away, stumbling backwards, before tripping over Jareth and landing in a heap.

She pushed herself up again, having to stay between this monster and Jareth, when she was cut off.

"Stop!" the yell was piercing the silence, and the shock of it made Sarah's attempt to get up end with her on the ground once again. She looked up at the goblin in shock, and saw him straightening brown robes and harrumphing slightly.

"Are you quite done?" the tone of voice reminded Sarah of herself chastising a student, and she felt herself shrink in response.

"Who are you?" she asked in a small voice.

"Now, perhaps that is what you should have started with before so foolishly attacking something that could have snapped you in half?"He snapped impatiently. Her face, already flushed from exertion, turned a deeper red.

"I'm sorry," she answered hesitantly. "I thought you were trying to hurt him."

The goblin seemed amused at this, but it was hard to read any expression past the beak nose, red and yellow eyes, and horrible teeth.

"I'm afraid that would have me quite out of the job," he answered in a monotone, all previous bluster at her attack vanishing. "I am Jory, steward to His Majesty Jareth, and am here to collect him."

Feeling foolish sitting on the ground, Sarah pushed herself up to try and get closer to eye level with the goblin. "Why?"

"In case it has escaped your notice, His Majesty is currently unfit to be out and about."

"Well, yes," she answered slowly. "I had noticed. Why did he collapse when he did?"

The goblin stared at her. "Do you think magic is effortless? It takes considerable energy to travel between worlds, which, due to his obsession with you, has been very frequent these last few days. Add that to the Rock Callers he froze in the Silver Valley, and his meddling with the Star Pond, I would gather that he has exhausted himself." He did not stop to explain his comments despite Sarah's obvious confusion. "Of course, it will take a few days for his recovery."

Silver Valley? Rock Callers like Ludo? What had Jareth been up to this whole time? She felt ashamed to realize that she had never even considered that he might have things he needed to do while she cried upon his shoulder and kept him Aboveground.

Oh no. Aboveground.

"A few days?" The goblin—Jory, she should really call him by his name—nodded. "But how am I to get home?"

Once again it was hard to read the face of the goblin in front of her. Was that surprise at her question? Or disapproval of her selfish question? She couldn't be sure.

"You will have to wait until His Majesty is well enough for between world travel again."

Without waiting for her response, the goblin hunched over and gingerly pulled Jareth into his arms. He glanced at Sarah. "I suppose telling you to run the Labyrinth to get to the castle would have a most unpleasant response, wouldn't it?"

Was that a joke? Sarah narrowed her eyes, still unable to understand the motives of this odd goblin. "I think it most certainly would."

With what could be a sigh, Jory transferred Jareth over one shoulder. "Take my hand then. Unless you feel up for the jog."

What if this Jory wasn't actually Jareth's steward? Things had lied in the Labyrinth before. She looked up at him suspiciously, but he paid her no mind. Not able to think of any other options, she resigned herself to his plan. She could react to whatever happened when the time came. Hesitant, but not wanting to show any sort of fear, Sarah placed her hand into the much, much larger one extended out towards her. Long fingers and claws closed around it, and she felt as though she had very much just crossed a point of no return.

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**AN: **Holy moley! Thanks for all of the reviews, my lovely, lovely readers! I'm blown away that people are still reading this _and_ that new readers are enjoying it as well! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and I look forward to writing the next.

Thank you for all of your support!


	13. Chapter 13

Sarah fidgeted nervously in the stone hallway of the castle. She and that Goblin—Jory- had transported here so quickly, that she wasn't even sure if they had gone back to that in between world of wind. Her hand briefly touched at her wind burnt face before she let it fall back to her side with a grimace.

Jory had taken Jareth into what she could only assume was his room and had asked her to remain outside. Her initial protests at leaving him in this state were cut off by Jory's abrupt reminder that there was currently nothing that she could do for him.

Her face heated up from more than just wind burn as she remembered her foolish actions. It had been incredibly stupid of her to run at a monster that large head on, but when she had looked up from the pond with all that contentment in her heart and saw Jareth in danger... Nothing else had seemed to matter but getting to him and keeping him safe. Even though all she had to show for it were sore shoulders from where Jory's claws had dug in while he tried to subdue her.

The large wooden door swung open and Jory stepped out, closing it firmly shut before Sarah could even think about entering.

"If he should wake, His Majesty would likely only further inconvenience himself by attempting to escort you back Aboveground," he said in what Sarah was beginning to dub 'Jory's Monotone'. "With this in mind, I think it best that you be separated from him until he is able to regain strength, and hopefully some sense with it, although that prospect has been doubtful for years."

Sarah felt off footed whenever this goblin made a joke. Was he poking fun or was he criticising her? Ignoring his comment she asked, "Well, what happens now? I'm worried about my family and duties Aboveground..." she trailed off and felt her face heat up yet again as the goblin stared at her in boredom.

"You have been here before, have you not?" he asked in what sounded to be an overly patient tone.

She scowled. "Yes, I have."

"Then surely you noticed that time in the Underground does not pass as it does in the Above."

Sarah started. It was true, the last time she was here she had wandered the Labyrinth for almost half a day, yet when she returned to the Aboveground only a handful of hours had been lost.

"This doesn't mean, however, that time in the Above stands still. And sometimes it may even go faster." He sighed heavily. "I suppose we should allow you a missive to your family in case time gets the better of us."

Pulling out a pocket watch that looked absurdly small in his large hand, he looked at the time and heaved another sigh. "I'll leave you to word your letter with the escort assigned to accompany you in the Underground. I believe you know this dwarf?" With the last sentence, Jory gestured towards the end of the hall with his pocket watch.

Sarah let out a delighted laugh as she saw none other than Hoggle standing awkwardly in the hall, looking quite unsure of himself. Laughing still, she ran down the hall before hauling the consternated dwarf into a hug.

"Oof! Lemme go!" he flailed a bit while Sarah continued to hug before finally patting her on the back. "It's nice ta see you too, Sarah."

"Oh, Hoggle! It's been so long!" She smiled at how embarrassed he looked.

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, we never did hear if you needed us..." he muttered.

Sarah paused, struck by the comment. All this moping about how she was alone and had nobody and she never even paused to think about her friends in the Underground who would gladly have kept her company. Guilt settled as a weight in her chest as the smile slid off her face.

"Hoggle... I..." She didn't know why she even started talking. She had nothing to say to that.

Hoggle waved his hands at her, dismissing her attempts to speak. "Oh, don't you start gettin' all mopey on me! You did just fine. We checked in occasionally." At her surprised look, Hoggle drew himself up and stuck his large nose in the air. "I have my ways," he added proudly. "Anyways, we've all been doin' real good since you left. I ain't sprayin' no stupid fairies anymore!"

She laughed again, and felt some of the guilt in her chest lessen. "Well, that's great!"

The guilt came back. She had a letter to write. Looking back over her shoulder at Jory proved he had already left to do... whatever goblins do.

"Sarah? What's wrong?" Hoggle's voice was uncertain, as it had always been anytime he expressed concern.

"I just... I'm supposed to write a letter to my family. What am I going to say?" she looked at Hoggle forlornly. "Even if I say I'm alright, and they don't worry, what am I going to do about my job? I have a classroom full of kids that need a teacher." Her lesson plan and schedule buzzed their way through her brain and she sighed. Preparing for a substitute had always been more work than actually teaching the class herself. How could she just tell her boss that she couldn't show up because she was transported to a magical world?

She groaned. She was going to get fired.

"Oh, uhh, I dunno," he said, looking confused. "But I guess we have time to figure it out until Jar—" he looked around to see if anyone heard his slip, "His Majesty Jareth isn't busy."

Busy? Is that what they had told him? Was she not supposed to talk about what happened? Or did Hoggle already know and was just keeping it quiet?

"I suppose." She straightened up and looked down at Hoggle. "So, where to now, palace escort?" She tried to smile for the sake of her friend, but was worried it came out looking pained.

Hoggle didn't seem to notice her continued anxiety as he clapped his hands together. "Well, there's a room all set up for you. We could just head there so we can start tryin' to think 'bout this problem you got."

Hoggle guided her through the halls, showing pride in his knowledge in the castle. He talked about how his new job took him all over the castle, and Sarah couldn't help but notice how much happier Hoggle looked now than he had when helping her in the Labyrinth. Granted, this time he was doing what he was supposed to and no one was getting drugged. She narrowed her eyes at the thought of the peach Jareth had commanded he give her. They'd talk about that. One day.

After he had coaxed her up the invisible staircase, they went halfway down a hall way before Hoggle stopped in front of a large wooden door. "This is it," he announced.

Sarah swung open the door, not sure what to expect, and found herself slightly nonplussed to be looking at what appeared to be an ordinary hotel room, complete with television. "What's this?" she asked incredulously.

Hoggle beamed. "We thought something that reminded you of Aboveground would be nice!" Sarah didn't ask who 'we' was.

"Why on earth is there a hotel room in the Underground? Why is this even here? ...Oh, but it's very nice!" she hastened to add after she saw Hoggle's crestfallen face.

"You think you're the only visitor we've ever had from Aboveground? Yeah, right! But you are the best!"

That was another thing she had never even bothered to think about—other people visiting the Underground. Good grief, the list of things she had never questioned was getting ridiculously long.

"Right, well, let's get settled then." she ushered him inside her temporary room and they both sat on the large bed.

"So, Sarah..." Hoggle began questioningly, "They didn't tell me much at all. What are you even doing here? Was Jareth up to his rotten tricks again?"

Sarah frowned. "No, he wasn't up to any 'rotten tricks.'"

Hoggle gave her a strange look at her defensive tone. "What was he doin' in the Aboveground then, hmm? I know that Jareth. Cooking up little schemes for his amusement. Oh, Sarah, I wish you'd have called us when he showed up. I woulda shown him the what for!" He threw a punch at the air to demonstrate his point.

"He wasn't scheming! He came Aboveground because he said he wanted to bring me back here to be with him..." She scowled. "Guess he got what he wanted in some weird roundabout way."

Hoggle raised his busy eyebrows in question.

Sarah sighed. "He's so different now," she said. As if that explained anything. "I ended up telling him he didn't know how to love and he said he could prove it to me."

Hoggle burst out laughing, rolling onto his back and slapping at the bed. "You—you bet the King that he couldn't love?" He kept laughing and Sarah glared at him.

"Yes, I did! Now, quit your laughing and listen!" Wiping at his eyes, Hoggle sat back up and did as he was told.

"I just... We came here to Underground and he showed me the Star Pond and it was so nice... he wasn't cruel... he kept saying he would be whatever I wanted him to be."

Hoggle grinned. "Did you ask him to be the Prince of Stench?" He started laughing again.

"Quit it! He's, well I don't know if he's changed, but he's different!"

"Ain't no way," Hoggle laughed out. "He's just cruel."

"You don't know everything he's done!"

"Yeah, yeah. Go on then!"

She stared at him to make sure he was going to keep quiet. "He was so nice to Toby and then... well, my pet Merlin—"

"The dog from the party?" Hoggle asked when she faltered.

She nodded. "He died." It still hurt to say it. But now she remembered the warmth and love the Star Pond showed her and it helped her be able to say it aloud. "And I was so upset. I didn't know what to do. And Jareth did some magic and now he's in the Star Pond, and then he fell down and Jory was there... I thought Jory was some monster and I ran at him..."

"You ran at Jory?" Hoggle asked incredulously.

"I tackled him, actually," she admitted sheepishly.

Hoggle grunted. "You shoulda just left him! All this time and you're still letting Jareth control you into doing what he wants!"

"I am not!" Sarah shouted at him. "It's not the same this time!"

"Yeah, well why not?" Hoggle glared at her and harrumphed. "After he gave you that peach and everything! No wonder you like him, he's kept you away from everyone else!"

Sarah paused. "What do you mean?"

"That peach he made me give you! You can't tell me you never noticed!"

She furrowed her brow. "Notice what?"

At her question, Hoggle's face fell. He fidgeted and looked down at the bedspread.

"Hoggle!" she snapped at him. His eyes shot up to meet hers before going back to the bed. "Notice. What."

"Well, it was a goblin peach," he said by way of explanation. At her glare he floundered again. "It's, well... ah, damn you, Jareth."

"Hoggle!" She felt worry creeping up her throat. Wasn't that peach just a thing to eat up time, to make her stay in the Underground?

"It's... you ate a Peach that was from Jareth, even if I was the one who done handed it to you. It's a silly custom that the goblins do, but when someone with power like Jareth has does it... it would mark you."

"Mark me?" she made a face of disgust.

"Not anything physical," Hoggle hastened to add. "It's more like, well, you never noticed how men just seemed to ignore you?"

Oh no. Her breath hitched. He hadn't. She had spent so many nights alone, wondering what was wrong with her. Why no man had ever even looked sideways at her. And it was Jareth all along? The same sweet Jareth that had held her while she cried and had exhausted himself burying her pet? Rage boiled within her. How selfish! How could he do such a thing?

At seeing her go so quiet, with her fists clenched, Hoggle seemed out of his depths. "Sarah! We can get him back! You must've done something to him to make you feel a little better!"

"I didn't!" she fumed. "He just barged into my life and turned everything upside down!" Those words sounded hollow and wrong to her. Her anger was failing her. She slammed a fist against the bedcovers, startling Hoggle. She wanted to stay mad. But then she thought of strong arms holding her while she cried, the banter they shared... how much he had done for her.

"I played petty games with him," she admitted finally. "I yelled at him for being nice to a child. Made him exhaust himself for something I wanted. And then, when he was hurt, the first thing I asked was how to leave him."

Hoggle grinned. "See! That's more like it! We'll figure something out to top even all that!"

Sarah shook her head, causing Hoggle to frown. "Why not?"

Hoggle wasn't going to like hearing this, Sarah knew before she even said it.

"I think I love him."

The garbled yell that came from her friend only proved her point. "Jareth?! You think you love _Jareth?!_ Have you forgotten everything that he's done!" he was waving his hands around as he ranted. "He tried to throw us into the bog! Sent cleaners after us! He was mean to me—to us!"

That was all true. But the more time she spent with Jareth now, the more she was beginning to see how much those things were kid games. There were serious things afoot in the Underground that she had no idea about.

"I don't know. I tried really hard not to! He held me while I cried and he just feels so right, and I don't know what to do about it!" She sounded panicky, even to herself. How could this be happening?

"You should run as fast as you can in the other direction!" Hoggle yelled.

"What does Jareth usually do when I'm not here?" Sarah suddenly asked.

Caught off guard by her question, Hoggle stopped to think. "I don't really know. Probably making lives miserable," he muttered.

"Jory seems fond of him," Sarah said in defence.

"Yeah, well, Jory's a goblin."

"You're a goblin!"

"I ain't!" Hoggle said, aghast. "I'm a dwarf!"

"Why are you ruled by a goblin king, then?"

"That's just his title! He ain't even a goblin himself! Jory's a goblin! Those little blighters we fought outside the castle, _those_ are goblins! But, I ain't no goblin!"

"Jareth isn't a goblin?"

"That's what I just said, ain't it?"

"Then what is he?" She asked. This was getting out of hand.

"I don't know! He's Jareth!"

They sat in silence, Hoggle fuming while Sarah digested the new information.

"Hoggle?"

"Yeah?

"I don't think I know very much about the Underground," she said miserably.

"Yeah, well, I'm starting to think that makes two of us."

She chuckled bitterly. "We still have that letter to figure out." Hoggle nodded and with that the two friends, one in love with the Goblin King and the other loathing him, began trying to work out a story while they each ignored the ramifications of Sarah's confession.

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**AN: **Holy Guacamole! What's gonna happen next? Tell me your guess in a review!

I quite loved having Hoggle in this chapter. He's fun to write, and I enjoy (although am not terribly good at) writing dialogue.

Once again, thanks to all my lovely, lovely, lovely reviewers! You guys absolutely rock! I love hearing what you think, so make sure you drop a review because it totally makes my day!


	14. Chapter 14

"There's no way they're going to believe this," Sarah groaned staring down at the paper in her hands.

"'Course they will!" Hoggle exclaimed. "Besides, it's not like _you_ came up with anything better!"

He was right of course. The two of them had debated the merits of different stories for hours, resulting in Hoggle walking out in a huff more than once, only to sheepishly return. Still, this new story was ridiculous.

She threw the paper up in the air and fell backwards onto the bed. She looked balefully at Hoggle. "I'm going to be fired."

Hoggle adjusted his cap and smoothed down his bushy eyebrows in what Sarah was starting to realize were signs of his nervousness. "If you did, you could always... nah." He cut himself off, looking at the floor of Sarah's temporary room.

Could always what? She pushed herself into a sitting position and stared at him, waiting for him to crack under her gaze. His fidgeting continued, but he seemed disinclined to finish his point. "Hoggle?" she asked gently, not wanting to close him off entirely by demanding answers.

He peeked up at her from under his busy white brows. "I mean, if you weren't working in Above Ground, then you could always... stay?"

She blinked, not totally processing his statement. "Stay where?" she asked slowly, not sure if she would like his answer.

He threw his hands up, getting abrasive in his insecurity. "Here! Yer always all alone up there! If you weren't teachin' those kids, then you would have no other reason to stay up there!" He stared at her, and Sarah could see the hurt in his eyes. "We missed you, y'know," he added quietly.

"Oh, Hoggle..." she began, reaching for him, but he turned away from her, crossing his short arms. She stared at his back.

"I missed you, too, Hoggle." She said, but only got a harrumph out of the dwarf in response. "Those kids... the ones I teach..." she didn't know how to explain to him the conflict that she was feeling. She had a responsibility Aboveground. A duty. Those children needed to be taught and they needed someone that cared about them. She liked to think she was good at her job, that she encouraged children and gave them the attention and education that they needed. But despite the love she felt from her class, her life had been so lonely. She didn't like how tempting his offer sounded.

Her chest felt tight with guilt as she realized that she had abandoned her friends in Hoggle's perspective. But hadn't she? She, despite her lonely life, had never once called to have them visit. Despite Hoggle waving away her apologies earlier in the hall, she could tell now that her long absence had meant more to him than she had thought.

"I have a lot to apologise for, I think."

"I should say so, too." Hoggle said as he looked at her over his shoulder. His face softened at what Sarah knew was her desolated expression. She knew she must look an utter wreck. Reaching a hand up to her hair that was still hopelessly tangled from the wind in between worlds, she sighed.

"If we send this letter, I lose my job. But at least no one will be worried about my safety... although they'll all be terribly mad." She bit her lip. "I do love teaching, you know."

Hoggle scoffed. "What's there to love? Bunch of little goblins running around. Good riddance if you ask me."

"Hoggle!" Sarah chastised, but felt a smile lift her lips despite herself. "They're not all that bad. They're very sweet children."

"Yeah, well someone else could always deal with 'em," he said dismissively.

Which was true, Sarah realized. All this thinking that she was the only one that could teach her class, when she knew there were so many up and coming teachers looking for work. It would be hard for her class to adjust, but it was still so early in the term that she could possibly wiggle out and not damage their education.

"Y'know, Hoggle? Being a grown up is hard."

Hoggle nodded the epitome of seriousness. "Just wait until you get to my age," he huffed.

Sarah smirked, thinking of how immature the Dwarf could be. "You're right. Now, don't we have a letter to send?"

"I have a letter to send," Hoggle said, puffing his chest out with importance. "I'm your escort, ain't I? I'll deal with this."

She smiled. "I'm glad to have someone so responsible helping me with my stay in the Under Ground."

"Well, it ain't nothin'. I'll go give this to Jory so he can get it magicked up to your parents and your boss."

Sarah nodded. "I think Irene will be entirely too happy to read it. Dad and Toby might be a bit upset, however."

"Nonsense," Hoggle replied. "You Above Ground people _love_ all that romance and stuff."

Sarah grinned at the generalization, finding it funny that Hoggle's view of humans was so limited. "What if they wanted to be there?"

"Tough for them!" Hoggle cackled, before waddling out of the room and slamming the door behind him.

It was getting harder and harder to protest this stay in the Under Ground. Seeing Hoggle, talking to him, even arguing with him, was the most fun Sarah had had in ages. Guilt still niggled at the edge of her mind—Under Ground had made her face a lot of her own inadequacies. A mischievous grin lit her face, as she thought about her bear of a principal having to deal with her sudden absence.

And then there was thinking about what her family would do. At least she had given them some happy news. It wasn't every day your only daughter ran off to get married to a stranger, after all.

She barked out a laugh at that thought that soon turned into. Her family probably still thought of her as silly and romantic enough to run off as elope and go on an impromptu honey moon. They'd probably disapprove of the rashness of the decision, as well as her potentially losing her job, but she could only imagine Irene's glee that Sarah had finally found a man.

Her giggling felt a little too hysterical, and she gulped in a couple deep breaths to calm herself down. She was here now. She'd just have to deal with consequences as they popped up.

She stood from her hotel bed and wandered around the room. How long was Hoggle going to take? What should she do in the mean time?

It felt a waste to be in the Under Ground and spend her time in a copy of a hotel.

Her newfound disrespect for consequences found her staring at the door. Before she knew what she even planned on doing, she was standing in the hall.

Her repeated ignorance about the Underground made her determined to find out more. She was doing this as... as a fact finding mission. Not just for fun. She laughed despite herself, wondered briefly at how much trouble she was having at controlling her emotions, and then began wandering down the hall.

She looked around curiously, smiling at just how much this castle resembled that of the pictures of medieval castles in the Above Ground. Stone walls complete with torches for light paired with large wooden doors made it an entirely different setting than she was used to. Aware that some rooms weren't always what they seemed, the Escher Room for example, Sarah determined to keep her guard up. Giddiness rose up in her at being able to explore, and she felt some of her childhood return with the fun that she felt at her rule breaking. Not that anyone had told her to stay put, she reminded herself so she'd have a ready excuse should she be caught.

Her giddiness began to fade, as she continued her way down the barren hallway; the only noise to accompany her footsteps being the occasional snap from a torch. There was something different about the Underground now than when she had been here as a child. The hallway, while well lit, was empty and grey, making it feel far too utilitarian compared to the bright and eccentric world she had visited before.

But this was only one hallway, she reminded herself. There was plenty to explore beyond just one hallway.

Except the happiness was gone and had given way entirely to uneasiness. She paused in the hallway and felt uncomfortable as she wondered where to go. Looking over her shoulder at the way she came, she could only see endless hallway. Looking forwards proved to show a similar sight, except for the one door that she remembered Jareth was behind.

She furrowed her brow at the seemingly endless straight line. Was this like the beginning of the Labyrinth when that worm helped her on her way? Scrutinizing the torch light, it didn't seem to cast any odd shadows or give any hints to a receded wall. Resting a hand against the wall proved them to be solid, the stone feeling cool and smooth.

Looking forward down the hall showed that she was only about ten feet away from the door she knew Jareth lay behind. Her chest felt tight and she found herself stepping towards it, before stopping herself. He was probably still resting. He didn't need to deal with her now. Jory's disapproval of her being the reason for Jareth's exhaustion was forcibly brought back to the forefront of her mind. Her face heated up at the memory. No, he didn't need her as a distraction now.

She groaned, tempted to just head back to her room. What was she even doing raring off just so she could look around? Her face heated up as she thought about Hoggle's reaction should he return before she got back. Or what Jareth would do if she got in trouble. Shaking her head, she turned away from Jareth's door to go back to her makeshift room, trailing her hand along the wall as she walked. For some reason, she really didn't want to deal with Jareth's disappointment. Well, she had all but yelled it in Hoggle's face, but now in the quiet of the hallway she couldn't bring herself to think about it.

Her own selfishness continued to make her feel ashamed. After all Jareth had done for her, to the point of debilitating exhaustion, and she wanted to spend her time wandering around like an unsupervised child? She huffed out a breath in irritation at herself.

After continuing her way back down the hall for a few more minutes, she slowed to a stop and looked around curiously. Where had her door gone? Surely she hadn't walked that far in her exuberance to explore?

Peering down the length of the hall showed only smooth stone and torches as far as she could see. With a grunt, she broke into a jog, glad that the day had been a pants day instead of a skirt one. Practical clothes seemed to always be an asset in the Underground.

Her sense of uneasiness grew as the silence continued to smother her. Her footsteps sounded unnaturally loud as they echoed throughout the corridor. Frustrated at her lack of progress, Sarah broke into a run trying to get back to her door. Torches and stone walls passed her endlessly, but she didn't see her door, or any other doors, that revealed any sort of progress. Her morning jogs seemed to have paid her no service as she pushed into a sprint and tried to get just get _somewhere_. Still, she seemed to be going nowhere.

She slowed her steps and bent over her knees, heaving a couple deep breaths. Straightening up, she peered down the hall again to see still only the well lit corridor.

She turned to see if she could still see Jareth's door so she could gauge how far she had run, and let out a frustrated yell.

The door remained the same few feet behind her as it had been when she took off. Part of her baffled at how impossible it was that she had gone nowhere, but her time with Jareth and her experience in the Labyrinth had shown her how amazing magic could really be. Briefly she wondered if she had really been going nowhere, or if she had really travelled all the way down the hall and the door had just moved to follow her.

She stared at the door. It seemed only logical that the castle, or the Underground, or just magic in general wanted her to go in that door.

She walked up to it, and placed a hand on the smooth handle before she froze. What if he could tell? What if he saw her and could she knew about her own changed feelings?

Did that mean she lost? She frowned. It wasn't a game. Her own reluctance seemed silly after how much she had already given to him.

Still she didn't open the door. Her breathing was fast, and she told herself it was purely from her run down the hall... or in place.

He wanted her to stay, she knew. To stay here forever, and leave behind the Aboveground. She thought of the letter she had given to Hoggle to send. It seemed even sillier and ridiculous now that she knew it had been sent.

She didn't want to give up her life. The more cynical part of her reminded her that it wasn't much of a life to begin with. Who would even miss her? Toby certainly would and she hoped her class would as well. She had been distant from her parents ever since she had moved out, and she had no close friends to think of. Did she really mind that he took her away from all that?

Was she just fighting for control? If she let him get his way now, would he expect to do so for the rest of her life?

Her hand still rested on the handle to the door. She heaved a sigh. Worrying and running away got her nowhere, as this silent corridor liked to prove to her.

She'd just check on him. He probably wasn't awake anyway.

Firming her resolve she swung the door open, only to be met with the very close up face of the weary Goblin King.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

**AN: **Once again, this took far longer to get out than I had planned! Life really threw me for a loop the last while—school is crazy, work is crazy, I had to do a lot of travelling due to family emergencies, and somewhere in between all that this fic fell to the wayside. I hope to have another chapter out very soon, since this one ended a bit abruptly.

Thanks to ALL my reviewers! You are lovely, lovely people. Also thanks to all those who favorite and follow my story, even if you don't leave a review for me to reply to! It really makes my day.

Questions, comments, concerns?! You know what button to hit! ;)


	15. Chapter 15

The beating of her heart pounded in her ears, as Sarah stood in blank shock. Jareth's proximity to the door had certainly been unexpected, and now that she was confronted with the King she had no idea what to say.

His face was drawn and there were bags under his eyes, and he was leaning heavily against the door frame. She tried to take stock of what he was thinking, but his face, aside from the strain it showed, was unreadable.

She waited for him to speak, but as seconds dragged by like hours, she had to break the silence. "Uh... hi." She blushed, knowing how stupid the words were. Was all that trouble with the corridor just so she could stop by and say hello? She wanted to bash her face against the stone walls.

"Greetings to you as well, Sarah." His voice sounded rougher than usual. She wondered if he had just been sleeping. Without meaning to her eyes flicked passed him to take stock of the room and landed on a large poster bed—one fit for a king obviously.

When her eyes met his again she blushed, seeing his amusement at her glance toward the bed.

"It is where I have spent my time since we've come here. I'm apparently in no such shape to be anywhere else." His tone suggested he was quoting someone, probably Jory, about his condition.

"Are you feeling better, then?" she asked. She didn't know how to feel about her anxiety about his answer. Did she want him to be better yet, to take her back home?

"I'm well enough to investigate whoever had taken up the new hobby of staring at my door," he said with amusement, although she didn't miss his subtle answer that he was still exhausted.

Concern welled up inside her knowing he was still so drained. Her nervousness, while not forgotten, abated a bit as she had a task. "Well, let's get you in bed then," she said in her best teacher voice, hoping he didn't pick on the possible double entendre that her words could imply. His smirk indicated he had. Damn it, she was blushing again.

However, he let her take his arm over her shoulders and lead him towards the ridiculously sized bed. She tried not to let her surprise show at how much weight he actually placed upon her as they slowly made their back towards the bed.

Her blush refused to diminish as she felt the heat from his body sink into hers. What was she even doing? Skulking around doors, practically dragging Jareth into bed. Where had her control gone?

He half sat half fell onto the bed, and she stumbled after him. Scrambling to the edge, she sat as proper as she could, her body screaming at her to both stay and run at the same time.

He stared at her, and his amusement quickly shifted into a scowl. "I'm not going to drag you down and ravish you. You can stop acting the frightened bird," he snapped, rubbing at his eyes.

She jumped at the anger in his voice, and blushed more at his words. "I didn't think you would!" she defended herself. Her stomach twisted at his mention of any sort of ravishing, although whether from nerves or excitement she couldn't tell. Probably both.

He swung his legs up onto the bed and lay back on one of the many pillows. Her eyes travelled up his body, taking note of his grey tights and billowy white shirt. She could see the muscles in his legs defined by the tights as well as certain other things that were all too defined. She skipped her gaze up passed his hips in embarrassment, instead looking at the pale chest that showed through the top of the loose shirt. Her hand twitched as she thought of sliding it down his shirt to feel his chest. His hands were uncovered, seeming oddly naked with no gloves. He had long and slender fingers; hands that should have looked feminine yet had an obvious strength to them that said otherwise. When her gaze reached his face it was to see his own mismatched eyes staring at her from under tired lashes.

Her chest fluttered at the heat she saw there, and panic began to set in. Was she really going to give up everything for this...man? Their stares held and her breathing began to get shallower. She had been so sure that this was his passing infatuation. It had been so foolish to forget what effects he had on her. The way he made her feel.

She tore her eyes away from his. She wasn't afraid of losing her life, or losing control, or having given up her principles. The stupid bet she had made with him only proved that those weren't the issues. She had nothing to lose by being with him.

But what if after he managed to attain her he wouldn't want her anymore?

Desperate, her scattered mind searched for something, _anything_, to throw between them. To not give up this tenuous hold on the relationship they shared.

"You set this entire thing up!" she blurted, drawing her brows down into a scowl. Dissapointment washed over her as she watched the heat in his eyes leave to be replaced by annoyance.

He didn't say anything. Just shut his eyes with a sigh.

Why was it so hard to trust that he really loved her? She had spent so many nights alone thinking about the powerful king that had offered himself to her when she had been just outgrowing her childhood. Thought about what would have happened had she accepted. What would have happened if she gave him power over her like she wished she had over him?

"You gave Hoggle that peach, so that I could never have any other man!" She sounded whiney and shrill she knew. It both embarrassed her to take this route when she had already gotten over it on her own.

One eye opened lazily to look at her. "I'm far too tired to deal with your attempts to push me away. You know you didn't want another man, anyway."

She gaped at him, in anger and frustration both at herself and at the vexing king before her. "You can't know that! There was so many times I thought that there was something_ wrong _with me because of that damned fruit!"

He huffed a laugh, but the action seemed to pain him. He was hurting, she knew, and she wanted to soften her ire, but she couldn't let go of it now. "What? You think it's funny that I was so alone?" she snapped at him.

Another long suffering sigh only further upset her turbulent emotions. His voice deep from sleep and irritation said, "You were alone because you don't belong there. I've already said that I'm too tired to deal with this. As you've been told before, I'm exhausted from living up to your expectations." With that he heaved himself onto his side so his back was to her.

He _was_ exhausted. His breathing was already deepening as he began to fall back asleep. She wrestled with her own thoughts. She knew how much he had changed, or perhaps her own growing up had allowed her to see him for who he really was, and it made it all the more difficult to stamp down her feelings. Now that she had admitted her love for him as well as her fear of abandonment to herself, how could she ever let him know? Or should she even tell him?

It had been a rather selfish few days, she realized. All with him pursuing her, while she lied to herself about her wish to be caught or even to pursue him herself.

She felt too deep to even back out of everything. All her protests seemed ridiculous now, and she didn't know how to change them.

He was right, she knew. He really had done everything _for her_. It was time to make a change in this. She had managed to step back and view her own life as the lonely and depressing waste it had been. She had managed to admit to her proud self how she felt about the Goblin King. She had managed to even identity the fears that were holding her back, rather than the principles that were never there. Surely she could manage to make up for some of the mess she had made.

She took a deep breath to steady herself. Sarah Williams wasn't going to let herself get in the way of what she wanted any more. If she could admit all these things to herself, then she could work towards admitting them to him.

Her perch on the end of the bed would be the first thing to change. Carefully, so not to wake him, Sarah slid her body behind his on the bed. Heat radiated off his back and seeped into her. She closed her eyes at the feel of him, her hands hovering in indecision. She may have made her mind up about what she wanted, but she was still inexperienced and nervous. Finally settling on putting one hand under her head and resting the other lightly on her shoulder, she relaxed behind him.

It was hard to ignore how much larger he was than her when she felt so uselessly small holding onto him from behind. Her face burned as she thought about how he had loomed over her in her bathroom what had felt so long ago. There certainly was a bit of a height disparity.

Her mind wandered to the feel of his lips against her throat as he had pinned her to the wall. It had been so much more intense than she had ever pictured it in her more lonely nights. The memory brought heat to her belly and she found herself shifting her legs together in discomfort. A small whimper escaped her lips, and she immediately cringed at her behavior.

To her mortification, Jareth rumbled a sleepy laugh. "Pleasant dreams?"

"No," she squeaked. She made to scoot back, but his warm sleepy hand placed it over the one on his shoulder and held her there. It was a gentle hold, she could pull away. She had always pulled away.

Butterflies were dancing in her chest as she tightened her grip on his shoulder and pulled him back towards her, so he was lying on his back. His hand still held hers, and he opened tired eyes in curiosity.

She smiled at him nervously, although it must have come out a grimace. She slipped her hand out from under his and tentatively brought it up to rest on his chest. She pushed her body along the length of his and felt his breath hitch slightly.

His eyes, more awake now, regarded her in silent inquiry. She focused on her task rather than answering him, sliding her hand under his shirt to feel the strong muscles and smooth skin of his chest.

Her hand drifted back up and traced along his neck, before gently cupping his face.

She had so many new questions for him now that she had made her admissions to herself as well as decided on her course of action. She had never thought to question why her. Or who he was. Or how the Under Ground worked. But for now, she could just see the heat in his eyes along with something else. She couldn't tell what it was, but resolved to just add it to the list of questions... for later.

Slowly, she lowered her face towards his, until she could feel his breath on her lips. Her eyes locked with his. She wanted to say something. Sorry, or you win, or I'm scared. Nothing managed to make it out before her lips closed the last space between them and kissed him. Her eyes fluttered closed and she just enjoyed the feeling of the kiss. His hands slid around her, and she let out a surprised gasp against him as he hauled her half on top of him.

His arms tightened around her, as if afraid to let her go, but his lips remained gentle as they felt out their first kiss that wasn't all bruising passion. He let her take the lead as she kissed him gently. Her tongue slipped out to taste his mouth and she felt a surge of both power and desire as he groaned into her mouth, pushing up into the kiss.

She wound one of her hands into his hair, feeling the thick strands tangle under her fingers. Pulling back she broke the kiss and stared at him. Both of them were breathing a little heavy despite the gentleness of the kiss and neither were inclined to speak, but the silence pushed down upon Sarah's uncertainty. "I—I guess I should let you sleep...?" She trailed off questioningly.

He growled at her and she looked at him in surprise. "You climb into my bed, press yourself against me, and kiss me, before deciding I should be sleeping? I don't think so." One of the hands that had been wrapped around her back went to the back of her head, pulling her down for another kiss. He took the lead this time, pushing more insistently. He nipped at her lip before soothing it with his tongue, and she whimpered into his mouth as his other hand slid down her back and grabbed her rear, pulling her against what was now a very noticeable bulge in his tights.

He made to roll them over, but gasped at the effort.

"Are you okay?" she asked, concern and worry pushing away her ardor.

He groaned. "You have the most horrible timing. I barely made it to the door to find out who was standing outside my door. I don't think I'm up for more _physical_ pursuits right now." He sounded as if he would rather eat bricks than admit this, so she soothed him with more kisses.

"It's okay," she said as she placed little kisses along his jaw line. "We have time."

She saw the confusion in his eyes, at her change of heart. Heck, she was still reeling from it. But after these few kisses, she wanted to kick herself for taking so long. Part of her didn't want to stop now and simply take the lead, but she felt so out of depths. She felt that some part of instinct or _something_ should just kick in and tell her what to do, but other than the basic mechanics she was coming up short. Instead she settled for snuggling her face into the crook of his neck, while she still lay half on top of him.

"Sleep for now. We can figure out things once you get better."

He peered down at her before asking, "You _are_ the real Sarah, right?"

She giggled. "I can see why you'd think otherwise. I've had some time to do some thinking," she said before adding after a pause, "The star pond is lovely as ever, especially with its new addition."

She looked up to see him smile. About which part of these outcomes she wasn't sure, although her new physical advances surely played part of it. His body relaxed under her until he was breathing deeply and she felt herself slightly rise and fall with each breath.

It seemed that Under Ground had been right in its taking her to Jareth. She just wondered if her newfound courage would last her until she found out if his love really extended beyond just the victory.

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**AN: **Hello, my dear readers! Okay, kisses aren't quite smut, but I promise we'll get there sooner rather than later! I'm worried about what ya'll think about this chapter, so be sure to buzz my ear off! I'm also sorry (again) about the delay. I know I told a lot of you a week after finals, but then I very rapidly received employment that involves some very long shifts at a coal mine (they don't use canaries anymore! Ha ha ha), which really impeded upon my energy levels to get this chapter out. Hopefully I can get a whole bunch done on my days off to sate all your curiosity!

Once again, a million thanks to all my readers, followers, and reviewers!


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